


Welcome to Slytherin

by baiqiaopei



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Jung Hoseok (BTS) is a bitch, M/M, Min Yoongi (BTS) has a BACKGROUND, Min Yoongi | Suga Is Bad at Feelings, Park Jimin (BTS) Is a Sweetheart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-01-23 12:53:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 53,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baiqiaopei/pseuds/baiqiaopei
Summary: It happens sometimes. You wanna get somewhere, wanna see something, try something, you dream of it, daydream and see the dreams at night. And then suddenly it happens. Someone loses the meaning of life, someone gets disappointed. Jimin is in panic. Because to his sixteen years he somehow grew accustomed to the thought of never getting into Hogwarts. And then here you go. Welcome Park Jimin.The following collage gave the author the idea: https://pp.userapi.com/c638224/v638224081/29b83/_A15o_EB9Xs.jpgCollages to the fic by Min Ri:1. https://pp.userapi.com/c639129/v639129671/253a2/-FCsfihzyEY.jpg2. https://pp.userapi.com/c636827/v636827671/8f386/ZDlDuRhcuq0.jpgArt by AlardoViarusdoMans: https://pp.userapi.com/c841130/v841130659/7753a/D5VfqvGxLPM.jpg





	1. The not-a-dream;

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Добро пожаловать в Слизерин](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/475261) by https://ficbook.net/authors/90810. 



> Some sentences might feel weird but it's because we tried to keep the narration going in the original' style. Sorry in advance if it makes the reading difficult or inconvenient! Also warning: swearings included
> 
> Thanks to ColouredDays, oness_u and Moon (https://twitter.com/DatSoulEater) for helping me editing the whole thing! Love you babes!

Park Jimin was an ordinary boy. He went to school, brought good marks back home, and played football with his friends on weekends. Sometimes he stayed home lazing around all day, reading yet another adventurous book with dragons, fairies, and magic worlds. He was already well aware of the said magic worlds’ existence, although at first he tried to deny it. Kim Taehyung, his best friend from childhood, was attending a school in that said magic world, where the dragons and fairies from his books resided. ‘Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What a beautiful name! This was something he used to dream about as a kid for the mysteries had always intrigued the young boy. He dreamed of shining with knowledge, participating in amusing lessons and bringing points to his house. Unfortunately, the closest Jimin could get to ‘magical’ was exploding something in a chemistry class.

Jimin, really shouldn’t have known about something that was so far from being his business, but that was the fate that Taehyung and he faced, as friends, and therefore young Jimin became a witness of the first magical appearance from Taehyung. It was truly a marvelous vision for colourful summer flowers bloomed in the snowbound garden. Taehyung had been scared to death, and had been crying terribly. Jimin'd taken him home, in an attempt to comfort him. Taehyung’s parents were ordinary as well, and wouldn’t believe Jimin’s stories, as he was merely a child. And then the letter arrived, though everyone had already forgotten the incident a hundred times over and Taehyung was now gone to that magic school, leaving Jimin alone. He was but of course envious of something his best friend had and he didn't, but more supportive than envious and would rather wish to see the boy better in the future.

As time passed by, Jimin grew up, getting accustomed to the red-feathered owl coming every weekend, delivering a letter from his friend, describing the classes, the school, friends and a strange ‘quidditch team’. Truthfully, Jimin did not understand whatever the boy so gleefully ranted about. To be honest he didn’t even know the word ‘quidditch’. Reading Taehyung’s letters, Jimin was immersing himself in another realm, wishing with all his heart for similar miraculous events like the awakening of magic happening to himself. Sigh, what was the point dreaming at all, he wasn’t a kid anymore, and the magic wakes at a young age, acquiring prominent features to the age of eleven. But Jimin was already sixteen, and there was nothing strange about him, and oh how he was saddened that there wasn’t.

In a day, there have happened so many occurrences that Jimin couldn't even process it, let alone keep up with it. He was walking absentmindedly home from the library, kicking rocks and clenching his teeth in a powerless anger. It was supposed to be today. The day Jimin finally confessed to someone he had admired for quite a while now, but just as he turned the corner he saw her with someone from a higher grade kissing her, pressing her to the bookshelves, while the girl was moaning loudly and incurving salaciously. They found the best place, obviously. And how pretty she acted, how righteous, the teachers’ pet, smart, nice, but in reality-

“She’s just another slut!” he angrily hissed and kicked the lamp post with all the strength he had.

This is when it all happened. The post did not sag all by itself, but the light bulb burst with a loud crack. Jimin jumped aside and looked, startled, at the shards of glass scattered on the asphalt. And then turned abruptly, hearing another crack. And another. And another. All the light bulbs in the lampposts till the end of the road shattered, crashing noisily with the falling shards. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and scared him to the point he couldn’t even yelp, flinching away and turning around.

“Violating the rules, hmm? Have you forgotten them?” spoke a harsh voice, the hand on his shoulder tightening painfully. Jimin was unable to answer.

***

“Jiminnie!”

A loud yell and tight hugs follow the next second. Taehyung hugs almost with love, almost fondly, but the ribs are ready to crack under his press. Jimin gives a weak hug as well in return but wants to burst into tears right now right here because his life is a fucking mess now.

“Jiminnie, you’ve finally made it. Dear Lord, I’m so happy! Now we can study together! Oh, I’m so excited!”

Taehyung chatters and is not going to shut up, squeezes him, pets his shoulders and his back, ruffles his hair, while Jimin is ready to cry like a girl, because he is standing with a huge suitcase with _“all the necessities for the first while”_ in his hand, on a damn clearing in the damn woods. It was that suspicious prick in a cloak with a hood who kidnapped him on his way home, brought into some kind of a large building in where Jimin was mocked as hard as possible, and then gave him this exact suitcase, said, _“the headmaster will explain everything to you”_ and kicked him here. What headmaster, why was he sent to the forest, why does he need this stupid suitcase - Jimin did not understand a thing. And here is Taehyung springing out of nowhere in dumb robes trimmed red from the inside as well. He is jumping around Jimin like an alien and exulting at something.

“Taehyung-ah?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up”.

Taehyung falls silent immediately and turns to him, then pouts, because his favorite Chim-Chim looked so hopeless. Terrified, not understanding anything, looking so weird in this place in his ripped jeans and a hoodie under a blown jacket. Kim came closer to the boy and hugged him carefully, patting on the back.

“Calm down, okay? Let’s go, I’ll lead you to the headmaster. Everything’s gonna be fine”.

And Jimin believes him a little. A little more than doubting the success of this entire venture. And he obediently follows, trying not to open his mouth in amusement, because they get out of the ‘dense’ forest a few meters further and there is an enormous castle in front of them and a long staircase leading somewhere up in the mountains past the round hut and the kaleyard, past the old trees and the round well. Jimin stays silent and really tries his best not to stare but fails miserably. It’s late already but there are still students walking outside. All of them wear different coloured robes similar to Taehyung's, with some badges on them, and they are observing Jimin as a somewhat exotic animal and whispering behind his back. Jimin is not scared, no, but stays close to Taehyung, just in case. The boy smiles softly and whispers to him how everything’s going to be alright.

“Woah! Look-look-look, what have we got here?”

 _“And we were so close,”_ Jimin says goodbye to his wish to sneak without all these shitty comments and rips his gaze up from the floor.

There are two boys in front of Taehyung and him. One of them is smiling widely and maybe even appealing, but in his eyes there is an evil flame playing. He’s wearing a school uniform and similar to Taehyung’s robes trimmed with green. He comes closer, circles around them, as if Jimin was literally just a fancy pet.

“Wow, the lions always drag some kinda trash to their place, but where did you dig _him_ out from?” the stranger grins and looks at Taehyung.

“You’d better stay out of this, Hoseok,” Taehyung mirrors the grin.

Jimin feels sick when there are sparks flaring up in between the stranger’s fingers. When Taehyung with one movement presses down the twerp’s chest a magic, God, this even sounds ridiculous, wand, Jimin is ready to faint. This is all just a stupid weird dream, he dozes off in the library while reading another one of those nice stories, he is daydreaming, he is going to wake up soon and head back home to mommy and daddy, with a delicious dinner and a soft bed.

The second boy appears closer completely unpredictably. He isn’t looking at the guys who were continuing to spit the poisonous words at each other, he is looking at Jimin, right into his eyes, into his soul. This look gives him goosebumps, and another’s figure is definitely blowing humid cold. Jimin would have recoiled but the other’s gaze is hypnotizing as if it was owned by a serpent. That’s why Jimin doesn’t move, that’s why he looks spellboundly into the eyes slightly gleaming from inside, noticing with the back of his mind marble-white skin and mint hair, more green than blue. Such a pretty color, actually. But also cold, same as this whole boy.

“Hi?” Jimin timidly exhales and gives him something like a smile.

The stranger backes off immediately, although just a moment ago it was not more than twenty centimeters between their faces. He tilts his head and then suddenly turns and goes away into one of the arches. The second boy, Hoseok, stops arguing with Taehyung and runs chasing him yelling to wait for him. Jimin bats his eyes, perplexed, but doesn’t have the time to think over what happened. Taehyung gets to him and takes his wrist, leading him quickly up a wide staircase. Jimin turns backwards confused because he left the suitcase but there is no sign of it.

The boy thinks he is going to wake up soon, it’s not going to take long. Just a little more. But Taehyung brings him towards some weird-looking statue with stairs behind it, whispers something unclearly and pushes him in the back, alluding Jimin to go alone.

“Good luck Jiminnie. Just don’t you worry, I will always help you,” Taehyung smiles wide and happily.

Jimin is feeling like he’s going up to the guillotine.

***

Yoongi detests increased attention to his persona, but it just happens, that way he can’t get away from it. He’s being observed all the time, he’s being talked about, whispers behind his back. It irritates deadly to be honest. Sometimes Yoongi wants to turn around and ask the gossipers to repeat all the words to his face. But he knows those very gossipers would then faint instantly. Min Yoongi petrified anyone who even tried to steal a glance at him.

Min Yoongi is a sheer Slytherin, descendent of an ancient black dynasty and has great makings of a black magician, immolating innocent babies. Frankly speaking, Yoongi would deny this because babies are so gross, and infants scream so much and loud and you can’t shut them up. Virgins are better. However, they are even more rarefied than unicorns. The dilemma. Anyways, he was considered the most dangerous student on his course and house. As if all this wasn’t excruciating enough, the boy fancied poisons as well.

Yoongi doesn’t have any friends, but has acquaintances. Jung Hoseok, that noisy misunderstanding, always getting into troubles trying to annoy Gryffindors; and Kim Namjoon, whose cause of ending up on Slytherin is still discussed as a very hot topic. Namjoon is, by all says, a bit arrogant, rude and harsh on utterances, but he is very smart. _Very_. Smarter than some of the Ravenclaws. He’d better be studying on the blue house, but no, he got into the green. However, Yoongi feels this kind of bad aura from the boy, aggressive, as if in any moment Namjoon can do something to break this damn school down to the stones. Probably that’s why Slytherin. It’s not like during the sorting it only the brain cells that count.

Since first year Yoongi did not want to be the role model for everyone and the first one in his class, but success comes only to the ones who can remain on top of the pyramid consisting of many other competitors. Some disciplines were hard for him, because the inborn laziness sent him to the sweet dreams right when it was less needed, and some - insanely easy, even the teachers were surprised. But overall, Yoongi was studying excellently, _was_ a role model, and a Slytherin prefect. The last thing was Hoseok’s dirty trick, and the boy had been paying for that since the start of the studying year. Disregarding the many times he begged for forgiveness, tried to fawn and swarm, in the moments of particularly bad mood Yoongi let his fantasy go wild. The thing he didn’t get is why Hope was not trying to play him back, since some of his ‘jokes’ had gone pretty far. Perhaps this was the reason he continued teasing him, trying to reach the end of other’s patience and go over it. Mere curiosity.

 _“Well, now there’s gonna be no time to be bored,”_ Yoongi was sitting in front of the fireplace in a homely common room.

The boy who was with Taehyung was definitely not a wizard. But what was he doing here, then? So weird, frightened, cute bunny with those cheeks of his and an innocent timid smile. So adorable, with all the kindness of this world in his eyes. Was scared to even breathe but obediently waited for his fate while Yoongi was shamelessly exploring his brain and memory. The boy didn’t even react to the legilimency, did not notice his brains being gone through. Take Hoseok, who’s nauseous urgently. But there was no use, because from that higgledy-piggledy thoughts whirl Yoongi could only distinguish one thing.

 _“This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a dream,”_ and the images of library, book pages, a dark street with fading lampposts, some moaning girl.

“No, this is not a dream,” Yoongi whispered and closed his eyes.

He got a headache each time he was watching the fire, but he couldn’t help staring at it anyways.

_The fire is beautiful._


	2. Totally not a dream;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you see any mistakes or the content is unclear please leave comments and I will try my best to edit the text to make it more understandable :')

Sitting on the cold steps of the stone recess leading to the impasse, Jimin is unwillingly thinking about how shitty it is to get disappointed with life when you’ve just reached the sixteenth year of your life. He was not living his dream life before, but he couldn’t complain. He was all good, was going to graduate school soon, he had even chosen the university to go to next. Jimin had all his life planned already, after deciding to leave his childish dreams behind as soon as he gets his diploma, but the said dreams collapsed on his head without a warning. By the way, not wanted at this point.

 

Jimin had been dreaming about the world of knights and magic, about getting into the wonderful magic school, his own magic wand, but he also realized how unrealistic it was and how he didn’t actually need any of this. The nature did not gift him with the talent in the very start, and late presents were not welcome. But the nature didn’t care. And those creepy people wearing cloaks who didn’t let him open his mouth scolding him in every way possible, they didn’t care. And the headmaster, who was smiling softly and supportively, but to the plaintive _“could you please just let me go home?”_ replied with an out-and-out no, he didn’t care either. Jimin wanted to cry over a friend’s vest, but the boy was gone without a sign.

 

In a hall where Jimin went down to after a long, hard and _“I am dreaming all this, I’ll wake up now and everything will be okay”_ talk there was nobody, which was not surprising since it was an all-clear already. However, it wasn’t a burden for some certain faces to wander around the school corridors. Jimin went to the main staircase in an attempt to find anyone and was not expecting this “anyone” to be Hoseok. And he was not alone, another couple of kids wearing same robes by his side.

 

“Oh, it’s you again, little thing,” the guy smiled with a played joy.

 

And Jimin started to run. He was not looking around, he was just sprinting forward wanting to hide in the deepest darkest corner so that those guys won’t find him. He was not realizing that there is no sound of following footsteps, just a loud laughter. The boy stopped only when his lungs couldn’t bear it anymore. There was a narrow empty dark hall in front of him and an arch, hard to notice at the first sight. This was where Jimin sat down to let the sorrow eat him all. He was always imagining the castle to be a beautiful and warm place, always light and ready to help and protect everyone who is inside. But in fact there were empty unfriendly walls breathing cold around him, and the torches on them casting ugly shadows. Jimin is exhausted, Jimin is starving, Jimin is scared and wants to go home.

 

But the dreams swinged with reality, as if laughing at the little cornered Park Jimin.

 

“I just wanna go home,” he whispered silently, resting his forehead on his naked knees showing from his ripped jeans.

 

Jimin can’t even give a cry when he falls head over heels because of a hard push on his back. There is someone falling after him, cursing and dropping his body on Jimin. Teeth clapped next to his ear and he heard a painful hiss mixed with swearings. And how spooky was that hiss, almost as if there was a snake next to him. It gave Jimin goosebumps running over his spin, and he twitched, throwing other’s body off him and turning around. He could catch a glimpse of a closing wall in the arch before he looked at the sitting in front of him boy. Jimin felt a lump growing in his throat when he saw the familiar weird mint-haired boy from previously in the hall.

 

The silence that fell after that was as heavy as the stoned walls themselves. Jimin was looking fearfully at the stranger, and the latter was watching him in return, but his look was calm and apathetic in some way. The boy stood up and looked back at the closed entrance, then at Jimin who was sitting on the floor completely lost. He squatted in front of him.

 

“Don’t tell anyone”.

 

Not an order, not a request. Something in between said with an intonation as if the speaker did not give a damn about if Jimin actually tells somebody that he saw him here or not. Jimin was not going to tell anyone anything, he was not going to even stay here for long, because it is impossible to lock a child in the school with his parents alive; this was not an orphan house nor a jail. By that time the stranger got a bit closer, catching the other’s gaze. And here there was that feeling again, the feeling of being observed by a serpent, the feeling as if you move aside that serpent attacks you and pushes its fangs into your neck spreading the toxin. Jimin catches himself at the edge of crying and realizes he’s about to go hysterical. Everything that goes around here is just some delirium. He is not supposed to be here, he is supposed to be at home.

 

“Come on, I’ll show you the way,” the stranger whispers and gets up.

 

Jimin doesn’t want to go anywhere, but the perspective of curling here on the cold floor doesn’t look too tempting. And he actually is willing to curl to become small and inconspicuous, so that everybody would leave him alone. Maybe that’s when it all ends? The stranger doesn’t wait for a reply and is heading to the end of the hall already, making Jimin run after him to catch up. The steps echo from the walls, making the atmosphere even darker. However, the hall and lots of stairs show up soon enough. This is when Jimin can’t help gripping the other’s arm, not letting the mint-haired boy stepping any further. he turns around and tilts his head observing Park and then moving his glance to the stairs.

 

“Just hold the railings”.

 

 _“Maybe this is one of those dreams in which you have to die to wake up?”_ Jimin thinks in panic, screwing up his eyes.

 

He had no intentions of holding the railings of the goddamn staircase, that was hella moving. In the air. Floating. Park clutched the stranger’s arm, almost hanging on him with no will to let go. The latter did not respond, only gave another one of those ice gazes. But Jimin has his eyes shut, Jimin doesn’t give a damn about how anybody looks at him. Jimin is almost hysterical and is about to break down.

 

“We’re here,” a quiet voice speaks next to him.

 

 _“Alright, Jimin, you can do it. One-two…”_ Park counts in his mind and opens his eyes.

 

There is a corridor with a normal, thanks God, floor, onto which Jimin jumps to from the stairs like a fallow-deer. He gives out a loud relieved sigh with the other boy chuckling softly, and Jimin turns at him in surprise but only sees a mask of cold detachment on the other’s face. They remain silent all the way forward, the surroundings changing slowly which makes Jimin look around interested while he walks. The further they go through the corridors the more paintings there are on the walls. All of them framed with gold, some of them have nameplates; in the recesses the are stoned busts and overall it is so exquisite Jimin can’t not stare.

 

And therefore he couldn’t notice his guide has stopped, predictably running into his back.

 

“Sorry,” he uttered quietly, jumping off.

 

Mint-haired boy just sniffed in response, giving attention to the big, very big and wide painting. Jimin noticed it, too. He thought somewhere in between the long _“oh”_ and knees shivering, that this is not a dream, no. This is all much simpler. He has just gone mad. Because the pictures don’t move, because the lions painted on them don’t roar and stand up on their legs, reaching your side, because the painted ladies wearing sumptuous dresses must not speak and ask lazily with their pretty voices _“do you need anything?”_.

 

“Call Seokjin. Say it’s important”.

 

Like in slow motion, Jimin can see the others’ lips moving, the lady in a dress standing up from a cane-chair she was sitting on, and going somewhere outwards the painting. The two lions don’t disappear, though, and they are so close and roar so intimidatingly Jimin can’t help but move behind the other’s back. The mint-haired turns around and opens his mouth to say something but at that moment the painting moves aside and there is a guy walking out from behind it, looking sleepy and wearing an overstuffed burgundy sweater. However, disregarding his sleepy overlook, the boy’s gaze was heavy and intent. And first of all this gaze scanned Jimin, who was shifting leg to leg awkwardly, and it stopped for a bit on his naked knees, and then moved to the mint-haired boy.

 

“I was expecting anybody but you. Who is this and what’s the deal?”

 

“I found him in our dungeons. Today I’ve seen him with Kim Taehyung. So you’re to take care of him”.

 

Seokjin’s face was showing displeasure and _“as if there were not enough troubles, thank you very much“_ . Jimin’s face, on the contrary, was nothing new, same old smiling mask on the edge between _“everything is fine, keep breathing”_ and _“I am going to cry out loud right about now and you all will not fucking like it”_. He doesn’t know what is it on the mint-haired’s face because the latter turns and walks away to where they came from. Jimin confusedly watches his back, then looks at Seokjin who eyes boredly into Jimin's skull, though the look definitely not calm, and sprints away in a moment. He reaches the turn where his “saviour” went to in mere seconds and bumps into the other’s back right away.

 

“Shit,” the stranger hisses turning abruptly and Jimin automatically takes a step back.

 

“Sorry, I… What’s your name?”

 

 _“Not this! We don’t need this!”_ the voice inside his head yells when the paint started rushing to his cheeks somewhy.

 

The stranger stays silent for a long, very long time, behind his back Seokjin is clamoring for him, so Jimin turns and is ready to walk away when…

 

“Yoongi. Min Yoongi”.

 

Jimin turns back and looks at the boy who is frozen in his place, and then he smiles. God knows why, but he feels relieved by knowing someone’s name, so his smile is broad and genuine.

 

“Park Jimin”.

 

Yoongi hems again, nods a bit, turns away and goes. Jimin runs back to the portrait and shrinks under Seokjin’s acidulated stare. The latter grabs his hand coarsely and pulls in with him. Then he pushes Jimin with force onto the sofa and frowns at him from above like some kind of a gloomy statue.

 

“Right now, tell me, who, from where, and why Taehyung?” he hisses.

 

Jimin thinks how pretty face doesn’t mean nice character. And then he can’t think anymore because this Seokjin guy glares at him in the most intimidating way possible, so Jimin starts speaking. Gibbering and stuttering, repeating himself out of fluster, he actually realizes that that weird boy probably can hardly understand what he’s speaking about, but…

 

“You go up the right stairs to the fourth floor and get into a vacant bed. And lay low, you got it?”

 

It’s hard to disagree when you’re being looked at this terrifyingly and hissed at this ghoulishly. Jimin nods like a dummy and after a rude _“then why are you still here?”_ dashes to the stairs, which gets soon divided in two ways. In the room where he was said to stay at there was a night light on at someone’s nightstand. To be precise, not someone’s, but Taehyung’s, because it was Jimin who gifted him this -  casting shadows of the witches on the brooms and the cats arching their backs - gadget. After quietly reaching the bed, Jimin smiles at the sight of his friend’s attractive face. On the second bed there was someone sleeping as well, the face too childish, or probably the dusk of the room could play games on Jimin’s eyes. The third bed was empty, so the boy got into it without taking his clothes off, wrapping himself with a head in a burgundy blanket.

 

 _“There are also that kind of dreams in which in case to get up in reality, you have to fall asleep in the dream,”_ the inside voice murmured comfortingly.

 

In fact, Jimin didn’t give a damn at this point, he got so freaking tired during this goddamn day.

 

***

 

The morning started even nicely in some way. Jimin woke up to the soft sunlight warming his face comfortably. Squinting and purring contentedly, the boy stretched and opened his eyes to look at the window. A stunning sky scenery like what he had never seen in his own room. And the window in his own room is not like that. And on his bed there is no burgundy baldaquin. There is no baldaquin at all on his bed.

 

 _“This is not a dream,”_ a desperate thought shoot his mind.

 

Jimin sat up abruptly and looked over the room where he came to yesterday in a jittery disbelief. Same two beds in the front, his suitcase with _“all the necessities for the first while”_ , that guy with a childish face he had seen last night while looking for a vacant bed. Actually, the guy’s face was not that childish, and the gaze turned to Jimin seemed able to kill.

 

“Who are you, what the hell are you doing here and why is Tae-hyung in your bed?”

 

Jimin doesn’t even find it strange anymore, that everybody whom he met in this peculiar place is hissing at him, looking viciously and trying to get rid of him. Jimin doesn’t understand why he deserved all this because he is a kind-hearted and responsive, attractive and charming lad, good son and a loyal friend. His eyes caught Taehyung sleeping next to him, cuddling to his side. If he’s not mistaken, yesterday the boy had brown hair, and now they are already light ash, almost white with a golden glow. Dazzling. That much that Jimin reaches his hand out to stroke the messy strands when his wrist is being gripped. The other’s fingers are tight, causing pain as the boy pushes his hand away. Jimin is ready to rebel because what the actual fuck but that’s when Taehyung wakes up. He turns to his back and stretches, then looks at the frozen boys and smiles broadly.

 

“Oh, so you guys already made acquaintance huh?” he smiles and Jimin notices the cheeks of the impudent boy get scarlet a bit.

 

“We’re not acquainted, hyung” he mutters and walks away through another door.

 

“Aigoo, so cute being in the pouts,” Taehyung melts and stays uptight, turning to his friend. “Sorry, sometimes at night I get cold. Usually I go sleep with Kookie, but I noticed you and decided to get aside so that I won’t miss it when you wake up. So, what did the headmaster say?”

 

Jimin didn’t hurry with replying. Firstly he slid down the bed, resting his head on the friend’s knees, so that he feels at least something material, keeping him in reality. Taehyung didn’t rush him, caressing his hair, and they could hear the water running behind the door where “Kookie” went to. Jimin took pleasure in the weasel, observing the room once again, looking at the window in which there was a bright blue sky and a burning sun colouring everything gold. He let out a heavy sigh, because what he really wanted to see was the regular wired web spreaded in between the power poles.

 

“The headmaster said my case is unique, the only one in about past forty years. He claimed it happened before somewhere in France where there was registered a wizard whose power awakened on his thirty-second year of life. What your headmaster did not mention, though, is was that man forced to attend some weird magic school, too, or if he wasn’t. Shit, I don’t even want any of this. I just wanna go back home, to my regular school books and pens, I wanna roll around the sofa on weekends again in front of the TV, but not…”

 

“Not being in here,” Taehyung finished his sentence. “I understand, Jimin-ah. After all, dreaming is one thing while getting here in reality is completely another. But you need education. Think of that time I set the curtains on fire when I was little. I could practically die then if not for my mom being at home. In a way, you’re in a more favorable position. You are a grown-up enough to realize how dangerous such magical outbursts can be. You won’t be able to control that first time, because mostly it depends on your current mood. Hence, studying here for you is a must. Again, since you’re a grown-up, you will probably memorize and understand things easier. For me it was really hard on the first year, I was restless and everything was difficult, I was an outsider in my group. It was later when it all changed. It will be a bit more simple for you”.

 

“They said the magic is here but I don’t feel anything,” Jimin whispered, lying on his back and looking into his friend’s agitated eyes. “Mayhaps this was all just some halting? The one that happens only once. Or a mistake, and it was not for me but for someone else who blew up all those lampposts? And they have just mistaken me for that other wizard?”

 

“The school’s barrier would not let you inside if you were ordinary. For usual people it’s merely mountains and fields here, they can’t see neither the castle nor us,” Taehyung shook his head and smiled, leaning to his friend’s forehead and leaving a small peck on it. “It’s going to be fine, I will be next to you, alright? Just like in childhood, same now”.

 

Jimin had no time to answer for the door shutting ear-splittingly. Both boys gave a start turning their heads, but “Kookie” did not let out a word, just gave them a dead look and started getting dressed.

 

“Jiminnie, this is Jungkook, he’s on his fourth year in Gryffindor. Oh, by the way, I’m already a sixth year, so for me it’s just this year and the next one left. Jungkookie, this is my…”

 

Taehyung couldn’t finish his sentence as Jungkook turned to them rigidly, gave them another icy look spoken of _“I don’t give a shit”_ and went out, shutting the door with force once again.

 

“Oh, Jimin-ah, forgive him, will you?” Tae asked putting his hand together in a pleading gesture. “He just doesn’t like it when I get close to someone else”.

 

“I wonder why,” Jimin mumbles unintentionally. Taehyung only shrugs in reply.

 

“He’s just fourteen, but he is very brainy and capable. He even takes some classes for the next year already. He is also a gifted Seeker, and everyone envies him at that. His character is not sugary sweet, and his gaze is always pretty heavy, and it is always hard for him to open up, so he doesn’t have any friends, just a few acquaintances. But he is oh so cute, I couldn’t help getting attached to him. And now he’s scared I find him a replacement and stop hanging around with him”.

 

Taehyung bit his lip, deep in his own thoughts, but then shook his head and stood up.

 

“Let’s go take a shower, and then you tell me how it went further yesterday”.

 

Jimin didn’t have anything against this, especially as in the bathroom he found two separate shower cabins. After a night spent with his clothes on his body was itching badly, and therefore it was really nice to feel the hot water filling the room with hot steam puffs. While Jimin was enjoying the shower, Taehyung told him about the school, the four houses, the teachers. Then he moved on to particular faces, precisely.

 

“Beware Seokjin,” Taehyung declared, taking his toothbrush out of his mouth for a moment. “He is our house prefect, but he’s not going to protect you, moreover, he is always after our guts, penalizing us for every prank and faults. Creepy dude, disregarding his handsome face. Everyone here is assured his place is on Slytherin, with all those nasty pricks. But don’t you dare say that out loud, he’ll strangle you with his bare hands. Although, if he’s in a good mood, he can help you with homework or explain something. But this is rare. Girls are more cunning in this, they buy him chocolate and stuff, but it won’t play around with guys”.

 

Getting back to brushing his teeth, Taehyung fell silent for a while, rinsing his mouth after. By that time Jimin has already finished showering and stepped out of the cabin, wrapping himself in one large towel while wiping his hair with another one. Taehyung pulled him back to the room straight away, sitting him onto the bed, and started to rummage in a huge forged chest. Soon enough Jimin caught underwear and socks, pants, shirt, tie and a vest.

 

“Put this on, I’ll make it fit you in a moment. I won’t give you any insigns, I suppose you weren’t sorted to a house yet, were you? And you’re gonna wear my robes as well for now, it’s simple black so it would be fine for the first time. But what to do with your sneakers… Well, we’ll figure it out later. Now tell me, what else did the headmaster say?”

 

Taehyung sat in turkish in front of Jimin and rested his chin on his palm, watching his friend getting dressed. It was not awkward or anything though, they were both males after all, so Jimin put on the clothes casually, proceeding with his story.

 

“He didn’t. Promised to clear up my situation soon, said he needs to discuss it with other professors, my education in particular, because I have nothing to do on the sixth year where I was supposed to be if I was studying since beginning. Told me not to worry about anything because they will help me with everything and then drove me out of his office. But he didn’t specify who ‘they’ were and what I am supposed to do now? Taehyung, these pants are too small in the hip area”.

 

Jimin lifted his head and looked at his friend, who reached for his magic, God, it still sounds absurdly, wand on the nightstand. He pointed it at Park, made a short pass, mumbled some latin or what-do-they-wizards-talk nonsense, and Jimin astonishedly felt the loose clothes to get more fit and too narrow ones to loosen up a bit to fit perfectly.

 

“It is actually a useful thing, huh,” he noticed, nodding to the wand.

 

“You should have one as well. By the way what is it there in your case?” Taehyung curiously walked to the tempting unexplored luggage.

 

To Jimin’s surprise, There were clothes and shoes his size, which he put on immediately, since it is not really too stylish to wear sneakers with classic pants, but the warm shoes were at least acceptable. Other than that, there were also a few heavy and thick books on the magic history, a separate book on the Hogwarts history and a purse filled with money, which brought instant joy onto Taehyung’s face.

 

“It’s a day off today, we could ask Seokjin and go to a Diagon Alley to buy you a magic wand! And it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at surroundings anyway”.

 

“Any other ‘clever’ thoughts?”

 

A cold voice behind their backs was completely unexpected, and caused both boys to jump onto their legs and turn to the door. It was wide opened and in the doorway there was Seokjin standing arms crossed, drilling them with a rather unsatisfied gaze.

 

 _“Or is it always like that,"_ Jimin thought, observing the prefect.

 

Perfectly combed hair, perfectly ironed shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a grey vest with a bright badge over it. The vest covered a red and gold tie. Everything was perfect, without a fold and a wrinkle. Jimin compared him to himself involuntarily. The vest creased, the tie hanging on his neck untied.

 

“You can only get into the Diagon Alley with a port-key. You wanna clean your friend’s brains off the walls? He can’t move any other than via his own two feet, not until his magic stabilizes. Well, maybe also the broom, but there’s something telling me you shouldn’t even try,” Jin’s voice did not leave a place for negotiations, as the boy looked over Park with an intent stare and even maybe nodding to his appearance. “The headmaster talked to me this morning. Jimin will stay here with you until they decide what to do with him, since you are friends. He’s not obligated to attend classes, so for the first time read some common books he got and explore the castle and surroundings. Taehyung, your task is to look after him so that he won’t get into troubles, since it was Yoongi who brought him the other night”.

 

Seokjin shuts the door and Jimin finds him in a tight hug from his friend in the same moment. Taehyung grabs his shoulders, looks over him convulsively, then hugs him again as if Jimin has just got away from the close death.

 

“Oh my God, that’s horrifying! I’m so sorry, I had to wait for you there, but there is this filthy old buffer sneaking around the corridors with his tattered cat, he literally forced me to go back into the common room. First day and meeting that cuss! I hope he didn’t do anything to you?”

 

Taehyung is all pale and seems to be really frightened, but Jimin can only clap eyes confusedly. He didn’t see a reason to be scared by Yoongi. Well yes, the guy looks gloomy and repulsive, his gaze is hard to bear and it gets to your bones, and overall he’s not the friendliest pal, but still…

 

“He is a horrible person,” Taehyung exclaimed, finally letting him go and getting dressed. “Hereditary black magician, his house’s genius and a psycho cracked on poisons. He is cruel and vicious, always brings everyone to tears with his biting remarks and dirty comments, and he always casts everyone down as if he’s so superior and shit. Even his henchmen are afraid of him. Hoseok and Namjoon are the only ones who kinda get on well with him, but honestly I think Yoongi is blackmailing them. Everybody can’t wait for him to finish the school finally. He’s two years older than us, Should have graduated already, but something had happened there in their house. No one knows the details, but the press was keeping us updated on some kind of trials going on some sinister incident happened in Hogwarts. Yoongi was dragged to many interrogations back then, so he didn’t study and couldn’t pass his exams, so he was left to take the seventh year's course again”.

 

“Couldn’t he just pass the exams again?” Jimin was curious, although the story gave him goosebumps running on his back.

 

“Of course not. It’s a hella lot of disciplines, for the Potions they even make some extremely difficult potion beforehand, and it’s individual for each student, the professor choses the recipe himself. So even being the genius he is, Yoongi just couldn’t do anything about it so he has to take this year again. He was being avoided before as well, but now there is literally no one wanting to cross his road. Nobody knows how he became the prefect, but there are only a few people lurking around the corridors now that he is. Especially near the Dungeons. He didn’t harm you, did he?”

 

Jimin would make a joke, but Taehyung looked deadly serious. So Park just gave him a warm smile and shook his head.

 

“He had found me in the Dungeons, where I ran to not knowing the way, because I bumped into that Hoseok guy before. He said he’d show me the way, so he did”.

 

Jimin shrugged and suddenly remembered the dark arch and a quiet _“don’t tell anyone”_. After Taehyung’s story about the sinister incident and the trials, even with no concretism, the boy felt the instant need to tell someone, but this someone couldn’t be Taehyung. The boy would just cause panic, but who else? Not the headmaster, right.

 

“Okay then, let’s go have our breakfast. I’ll tell you more about our house yet, who’s good who’s bad here. And we have to find Kookie, too, or he’s gonna get into troubles again and will get a rebuke from Seokjin. Let’s go”.

 

Smiling jubilantly, Taehyung practically blew out of the room, tying his tie on the run. Jimin gave the last look over the room and dismally followed his friend. It got clear this is all not a dream, and he will have to get accustomed to spending the rest god knows how much time in here.

 

 _“I wish I could see my parents,”_ the boy thought wistfully while following the loud and cheerful Taehyung. He caught a few interested looks on himself.

 

Yeah, Jimin’s mom would never leave her lovely only son in such a place especially if he asked her to take him home. But his mom isn’t here. Who is here is a noisy Taehyung dragging him by his hand into an enormous hall, here is also a multitude of kids different ages staring at him shamelessly, here is Seokjin, who whispered to him a bodeful _“just you dare do something while being under my responsibility”_ as he passed by. Here is Jungkook, sitting at the table already and drilling Taehyung’s arm covering his wrist with his killing gaze. Here is Hoseok, who's smiling oh so not kindly, as Jimin could notice when he timidly lifted up his head for a second. And here is Yoongi. Yoongi, who didn’t give him any kind of attention, choosing to ignore the boy completely.

 

 _“Maybe this is for the best,”_ Jimin thought as he sat at the table.

 

After what Taehyung’s told him, the mint-haired didn’t seem so sweet anymore. Jimin couldn’t think about that properly, though, because he got stuck in between the loud and curious Gryffindors. The girls stuck all around, admiring the cute face of his and asking tons of questions. Guys behaved more restrained, but acted friendly either way. Jimin couldn’t memorize everyone at once, although he genuinely tried. This made him blush and get all shy during the talk at the breakfast table, as he didn’t know how to call for someone. He was laughed at kindly and immediately prompted with the proper name.

 

“Hey Chimchim,” a guy whose name was probably Minho called. “You’re going to be sorted into one of the houses one way or another. Where do you wanna go to?”

 

“I would actually prefer being together with Taehyung, the childhood friends after all,” the boy replied, shading under many pry looks and memorizing everything Taehyung had told him about the other houses. “But I’m not that brave to be a lion alright. I’m not that into studying for Ravenclaw as well, and Slytherin…”

 

“Slytherin whom, what are you talking about, there are only those filthy assholes in that house,” one of the girls sniffed in disgust and fixed her hair coquettishly when Jimin looked at her. “Maybe Hufflepuff, then? They are nice kids, very friendly”.

 

“Perhaps yes,” Jimin nodded, not seeing a reason to argue with that.

 

“I have a feeling Jimin is going to end up with us,” a few of other girls nodded, too. “Such a cute shy boy, where else would he go?”

 

Jimin was tomato red, his years burning, and hanging on his shoulders Taehyung gave out a loud laugh, which was caught up by everyone else, watching the seemed as a full-grown boy tenderly, as the latter got all embarrassed of all those simple compliments. There was only one who wasn’t laughing. It was Jungkook, observing the kids darkly. He left the hall soon, but nobody cared, as everyone was paying attention to Jimin only.


	3. A hard Saturday;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, as the translator, am apologizing for not updating the story for so long! I tried to find a new editor (and failed) and had other business to do. I hope you can still enjoy uwu

Yoongi loved being alone. He cherished every minute of peace and quiet. He couldn’t get that in the Slytherin common room, where all the students from every year gathered together to do homework, read books, play games and just chat. The ruckus, hubbub, laughter and arguing, sometimes swearings and bawdry. Yoongi got tired of all this fuss rather quickly, so he preferred going out to walk around the castle. Actually, as a prefect, he had his own room, but he could feel the walls closing in there, lacking air, and it was freezing cold, so Min avoided spending another minute there. To be fair, in the room it was pretty warm, if you set up the fire in the fireplace it would even become deadly sweltering, but the boy was naturally always cold, so he felt like it was freezing everywhere he went to. Or maybe it was that he got so frosty from inside that those inner ice crusts didn’t let him warm up even a bit. Who knows.

 

More than walking around the castle Yoongi loved getting outside. Wrapping up in a warm cloak, the boy lurked through secret passages and got to an abandoned well from which you could sometimes hear eerie cries at night, and climbed onto a bottom branch of an old cracked oak tree. He could observe the castle in peace from that position, all the lights in million windows. And the gamekeeper's hut with the golden light in its window and the smoke coming up from the chimney could be observed clearly, too. And the black water surface of the lake glistening in the moonlight. And the velvet sky with the stars scattered all over. Yoongi could spend hours sitting in his secret nook which was not so secret in a daylight though, with students passing by following the lowering stoned steps to reach the gamekeeper who was teaching Care of Magical Creatures; or to go to the lake where there were tons of people on weekends, especially in the warm seasons.

 

So it was Yoongi returning from his evening walk when he bumped into Jimin. Not just bumped, but basically fell onto the boy. Yoongi had discovered the secret entrance hidden behind the deadend arch at the end of the corridor which was a branch of the one leading to the house’s common room, a very long time ago. He was a sophomore or maybe a third-year by then, and had just started running away from his sister’s surveillance. He was aware of the corridor is cul-de-sac, so it couldn’t possibly be anyone there at that time, and therefore he pushed the stone barrier with force from inside, least expecting anyone to sit there on the other side. And not just anyone, but that weirdo Park Jimin.

 

Yoongi took some time to figure out who was sitting in front of him, but as soon as he saw the eyes of the other widening in fear, everything had become clear. Min wasn’t quite sure why exactly he decided to show that freak the way and why the way lead to Gryffindors'. It was just that the boy looked petrified and completely lost, and the second intruding into his mind resulted in grasping an image of Hoseok’s face within the mess of the other’s memories. Hope had never learnt his boundaries, always waiting for a chance to mock someone, but Yoongi did not want Jimin to get hurt. Why? The sense of justice? Pity? Compassion to the other’s hard times? Probably the last two. Yoongi was one hundred percent sure the boy was going to study in this school. And it would be hard as hell for him. And if not Gryffindors, who could give the poor thing the support and sympathy he needed?

 

“Come on, I’ll show you the way”.

 

On the one hand, it’s not even a noble deed. Yoongi is a prefect after all, so it is his duty to walk around the halls in any time of day and night to catch the rulebreakers. So he could just combine the duty with… Fine, with a noble fucking deed. And it wasn’t that bad, actually. Yoongi had fun hiding behind a mask of aloofness, in his mind, chuckling at the boy who was dashing aside from the walls and paintings, squinting his eyes in fear and obviously praying to every god he knew. Often he would grip Yoongi’s arm in panic, although he was not a child already and would have to take it all easier. But the boy’s face was as if he would fall on the floor any minute now, curl and cry out loud something like _“mommy take me home please”_.

 

“I found him in our dungeons. Today I’ve seen him with Kim Taehyung. So you’re to take care of him”.

 

Another reason for bringing the boy to Gryffindor house came to his mind in that same moment. It was true the boy did come with Taehyung who was jumping around, holding his elbow and cooing watchfully. So it was obvious they knew each other, and whom else would it be appropriate to bring him to if not his friend? So Yoongi gave the boy into Seokjin’s hands and with a feeling of an accomplished task and _“finally, now here goes cuddling warm next to the fireplace”_ he turned to proceed to his place when someone bumped into his back once again. It was starting to get irritating at this point and so Yoongi turned around to scold the person in the least polite way, when…

 

“Sorry, I… What’s your name?”

 

Yoongi doesn’t believe in angels and any other winged crap, but Jimin looks pretty much like a fairy. So adorable with those creschent eyes of his and plump cheeks blushing like blooming roses under Yoongi’s intense gaze, with his broad kind smile, so beautiful and contagious, so bright that the corridor seemed to get lightened by it and Yoongi felt his facial muscles twitching unwillingly in an attempt to make him smile as well. But he knows the fairies only look all friendly and cute on the surface, when in reality they are ones of the worst creatures, and so Jimin can’t be a fairy. There’s too much light in him.

 

“Yoongi. Min Yoongi”.

 

He doesn’t see any reason for the boy to be so happy about knowing his name, but Jimin is practically glowing from inside, he introduces himself in return and runs back to Seokjin. The latter frowns unpleasantly, probably going to scold and intimidate the boy next minute. But it’s none of Yoongi’s business, Yoongi turns back and proceeds going his way to his home sweet home, the Dungeons. He meets the old caretaker on his way back and holds back an intention to kick an old cat meowing nastily and buzzing about the man’s legs. The creaker mutters something about _“those people prowling around...”_ but Yoongi doesn’t react and walks past him deep in his thoughts. He wonders where would Park get sorted. Not Slytherin, obviously, because there is no place for yellow-necked chicks in a serpentarium. Hardly Gryffindor, as Jimin jumped in fear just for the shadows on the walls. Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, then. He wonders if the sorting would be public or the headmaster would call for the boy to come into his office.

 

 _“It’s not my business either way,”_ Yoongi decides for himself, finally stopping in front of the door leading to their common room.

 

***

 

It was a hell of a hard morning. Yoongi didn’t get proper sleep after wandering around the castle for half a night, another half he tried to warm himself up next to the fireplace and so he had only slept for a few hours. It was unnecessary for him to get up on a weekend, but the door to his room was getting clobbered at persistently, and standing behind it Hoseok was howling like a werewolf whining about being hungry and ready to fucking break this painted piece of wood if Yoongi doesn’t let him in. Min did not quite get why the boy acted this ambitious. The painting being also the door to his room displayed a huge hissing snake and Hoseok was afraid of snakes so the painting had always been doing a great job at keeping the younger far away. Usually the sight made Hope nauseous, but right now he was even knocking on the canvas ignoring the hissing. He is either too agitated or squinted his eyes shut. Considering the shaking door it was probably the first.

 

“Get in,” Min hisses unpleasantly and the door opens.

 

Hoseok almost falls on the floor after leaning on it for all this time and yes, he has his eyes shut anyway. He opens them in a second, giving his friend, wrapped in a bedsheet, an overlook. The boy is all smiley and positive, noisy, laughing loudly at the smallest things. It is irritating. Annoying. Driving mad and wild just by his appearance.

 

“Get up, let’s go get some breakfast. That young boy is gonna be there too, I wanna catch a perfect moment and play a joke on him. Oh my god, he is such a coward. I wanna tease him long and tasty, it’s been a long time since I last had such an interesting toy,” Hope talks, prolonging the words sweetly, getting to the closet and rummaging through it.

 

School uniform and a cloak flies to Yoongi, covering the boy so that only his eyes glisten from under the clothes. Hoseok turns around, freezes for a moment, gulps hardly, and then looks away and smiles again.

 

“I hate it when you look at me like that. Like a serpent. It gives me shivering all over the spine,” the boy notices shyly.

 

Yoongi doesn’t respond, just humpfs and starts getting dressed. Fifteen minutes later he is washed up and got his hair combed, and twenty minutes later the boys are down in the common room. Classmates greet them good morning in response to Hoseok’s _“good morning everyone”_ , but their smiles die out as soon as they notice Yoongi standing behind his friend’s back. He goes forward and looks over Slytherin students, who went silent now, coldly.

 

“Just you dare do something inappropriate these weekends. One professor’s complaint regarding your behaviour and the next few weeks you’ll have to check if your food is not poisoned again”.

 

Dead silence and frequent nods. Even seniors shade under the heavy glare and nod, awkwardly rubbing their necks. Girls don’t even look at the boy, bowing their heads quickly and lowering their gaze to the floor. Yoongi nods in satisfaction and delight, politely blurts out a _“have a nice weekend everyone”_ and leaves the common room. Hoseok gets out next and hugs his shoulders instantly.

 

“Seriously, mate, you’d better stop acting like this. Where is our honey Suga, the school’s favourite? You’ve cravened everyone to their knees shivering, dude, this is not good. They are afraid to merely mention your name, I’m not even bringing out you have actually poisoned the defaulters’ food with some wild shit a few times so that they were in the hospital beds for a couple days,” Hoseok gets his hands off when Min twitches his shoulders discontentedly.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. A mere indigestion after distress and too much homework. Furthermore…”

 

Yoongi stops for a moment, glaring at his friend’s face gloomily and examining his own reflection in the boy’s pupils.

 

“...if the previous prefect was keeping a tight rein in his time, my sister would have been perfectly fine by now. Is it clear?”

 

Not paying any attention to the smashed _“it is”_ in response to him, Yoongi turns back abruptly and continues his way to the Great hall, where the whole school is gathered for breakfast. Before opening the doors and entering, Yoongi stops to turn again to Hoseok, who was following him dejectedly, deep in his thoughts. The boy stood still after catching the elder’s look and rose an eyebrow quiringly.

 

“The newbie. Don’t touch him”.

 

Hoseok’s mouth fell in bewilderment. Yoongi walked to their table silently, greeting Namjoon, who was already eating, a book in his hands as always, with a bow. Hope sat next to them in the next moment and was going to ask something, but Min’s look made it clear that this was not the right time.

 

The breakfast was going on as usual, Yoongi was eating peacefully, not actually interacting with anyone, vaguely listening to Hoseok’s and Namjoon’s talk. The boys were discussing where they should go today as it was a weekend. Yoongi himself was going to visit Hogsmeade to take his order in a bookshop and buy some of his favourite sweets. And he could also buy a few candies with various tastes to make Hope eat them all when the latter annoyes him again with one of his moronic excesses.

 

“What a cutie pie! Who’s that?”

 

A Gryffindor girl’s excited squeak hit his brains like a bullet, and Yoongi lifted his head to take an observant look around the hall and find the cause of such a horrid sound. Frankly speaking, that cause was anyone but Park Jimin himself, expectedly. He was grabbed by his hand as Taehyung lead him to the table smiling broadly. Yoongi looked at Jungkook as soon as he saw that. The tension at the younger’s back made him realize the boy was not too excited at this Park’s appearance. That was a problem. The lions’ table gone wild and loud, everyone talking at the same time, asking Jimin unnecessary bullshit, squeezing the boy, complimenting and basically dragging his energy. When the talk about houses and sorting started, Yoongi looked away from the table for a mere second to give a short look at the shyly smiling Park Jimin. Yeah, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would be the best place for him, obviously.

 

“Slytherin whom, what are you talking about, there are only those filthy assholes in that house”.

 

Yoongi was never over the fact how dumb some people are. Each house was competing in a battle within them four for ages, but somehow blue, yellow and red houses were together fighting against the green one, hating it and uniting for their holy mission. However, Slytherin didn’t really need friends either way. Slytherin was a proud-spirited house, powerful and astute, well-managed from inside, disregarding occasional arguments. It can fight face-to-face the whole world if the latter starts pushing. Therefore Yoongi couldn’t understand why do you need to throw hate towards them, if in fact you can’t prove anything, the least option available is bragging. The only strong spot of that bloody red house is Jungkook winning quidditch cups for them, but the boy wasn’t welcome, staying deprived of attention and cherishment that he deserved. In fact, Yoongi was still not used to Jungkook ending up with lions if his true destined place was always their serpentarium. Well, at least he didn’t have the need to wonder why this happened, apart from all the others. He knew the reason.

 

“Yoongi? Where are you going?”

 

Hoseok’s question was left hanging in the air. Yoongi quickly left the hall and looked around an empty corridor. He noticed a familiar mope-headed person and followed him. Jungkook ended up in an empty classroom, kicking the desk angrily. The boy turned at the sound of an opening door, ready to spit poison to whoever it was. He shut his mouth as soon as he saw Yoongi entering the room, unwillingly swallowing all the rude words he had on the tip of his tongue already.

 

“Hyung? Do you need something?”

 

His voice is calm, but everything inside of him is burning, and that can be seen through his gloomy eyes. Disheveled, flushed, furious. Yoongi liked this Jungkook, although the supervolcanoes emotion didn’t make the boy look better, but that was the red house’ influence which got all over the younger. The bad influence, if you ask Yoongi.

 

“I was wondering what’s the cause of you acting so irritated during breakfast. Did Park Jimin manage to cross your road already?” Yoongi asked curiously, sitting on top of one of the desks.

 

Hearing Jimin’s name made Jungkook all furious again, hissing something indistinct to himself. Yoongi didn’t rush him, waiting for the younger to calm down and function again. While Yoongi was listening to the boy swearing and blaspheming, he thought about how the same woman could have two completely opposite children. Hoseok was Jungkook’s brother, but they had different fathers. The elder was all bright, loud, arrogant and he was certain he’d get away with practically anything. He didn’t like studying and did that only because if the house will end up with less points because of him, he could get into a real trouble. He wasn’t shining neither with knowledge nor with skills, both in studying and sports. Jungkook was totally the opposite. Serious and sensible beyond his age, quiet and uncommunicative, indiscernible but astonishingly smart and talented. Regular classes, electives in disciplines he was far too young for studying, quidditch starting second year - Jungkook was shining in everything. Though, he didn’t need it, it just happened unpurposedly.

 

“That idiot is sneaking around my Tae-hyung”.

 

Jungkook’s gloomy voice dragged Yoongi out of his thoughts, and he lifted his head to see the younger sitting down on the chair tiredly. The boy calmed down and now was wistfully looking at the table he kicked a while ago. It was a little crooked now. And so that was the very reason why the boy persuaded the Sorting Hat to send him to the lions. Because Gryffindor’s third year student Kim Taehyung’s charming smile outshined everything and everyone in Jungkook’s eyes the moment he’d seen him. They met on the stairs, when Jungkook fell behind the rest of the kids because the paintings on the wall were too fascinating. When he turned back from viewing them, there was nobody around already. That’s exactly when Taehyung found him. The elder smiled at him gently since he really liked little children, grabbed his hand and lead him to the main hall. The guy was completely unbothered by the fact that Jungkook was already eleven so not really a little child. He looked younger than he was, and Taehyung found it adorable.

Of course, troubles followed right after Jungkook got sorted into Gryffindor. Jeon household was considered “impure”, as the mother got rid of both of her husbands in some weird and tricky way, securing a grip on the wealth once belonged to them. Not only that, but the woman's roots belonged to an ancient genus of dark magicians. And now one of the Jeon’s offsprings gets sorted into Gryffindor. Unbelievable. Fair enough, Hoseok was the first one to get aghast. Hearing the resounding _“Jeon Jungkook - Gryffindor!”_ he’d gone all pale, even his classmates sitting next to him got worried about his healthy state. Then the Gryffindors also went ape, as the seniors were already aware of the bad reputation following Jeon family. But Jungkook, he was extremely happy, as Taehyung smiled at him with his bright rectangular smile and allowed him to take the next seat. The whole following dinner the boy was telling him interesting stories.

 

“You’d better stop being so possessive about Taehyung. He is not your property, you know,” Yoongi noticed and let out a heavy sigh after catching the other’s stubborn gaze. “You are only fourteen, it’s stupid to believe he’s gonna ‘notice’ you. Moreover,  he is a half-blood, and the same-sex relationships are not something appropriate in muggles’ world. Besides, if the gossip is true, Park Jimin is his best childhood friend, they were practically sharing the same potty. If you snarl at Jimin, Taehyung most probably will take umbrage at you and maybe even stop talking to you”.

 

“Hyung—”

 

“No.”

 

Yoongi didn’t let the boy finish because his mood was crystal clear. Jungkook was about to set an argument, and quarrels won’t do any better since the boy is emotional and Yoongi is just telling the truth. It’s not his fault the brat doesn’t want to hear it and take it.

 

“I don’t care who is the guy and where he came from, but right now he is as helpless as an innocuous bunny inside the lions’ cage. He has no skills, knows nothing and understands nothing. Taehyung is going to be next to him to support and help. If you can’t look at this from his perspective as a sensible adult whom I have considered you to be, then at least don’t climb on a rampage if you don’t wanna lose your weirdo with his crooked smile”.

 

“You consider me a sensible adult?”

 

As of a pure Slytherin he is, it was Yoongi’s destiny to play on others’ emotions and weak points, so there was no surprise how he turned everything upside down and drew Jungkook’s attention all to himself. Jeon was always extremely proud of the fact that Yoongi himself, so grown up, so cold and not allowing anybody to get close, is befriending him, disregarding their age gap. Min’s opinion was always very important and meaningful for the younger boy, and he wasn’t willing to lose his elder friend as well. How cool it was to be friends with a senior, and what kind of a senior! The Min Yoongi _himself_ , the prefect and a role model for others, excellent student and just a super zingy hyung.

 

“Of course. So this is your choice: either you behave and don’t do stupid things, and I teach you how to make a poison from the fifth year program, or you act like a dumb infant, disappoint Taehyung, disappoint me and can forget me letting you take next seat at the library”.

 

Jungkook’s face showed all his soul’s emotional rollercoaster, but he nods dejectedly after all. Yoongi smiles, satisfied, and approaches the boy then to toss the other’s hair. Jungkook lifts his head up instantly in surprise, as it’s such a rare occasion for Yoongi to show any affection, but the elder then winks at him which just gets him into complete shock.

 

“Even if you wear a red scarf, your true self is still virid. Don’t you ever forget, you are a slytherin no matter which house you are studying at. And what is most valid for Slytherin?”

 

“Cunning, resourcefulness and ambition,” Jungkook memorized.

 

And at the moment he smiled with his funny bunny smile.

 

“Thank you, Yoongi-hyung!”

 

The boy looks full of joy now, as he says crumpled goodbyes and runs through the door, leaving Yoongi in thoughts about how the fourteen year old’ hot-headed teens in love is one hell of a huge trouble. He is on his way to the dungeons to get his coat and money when he notices Taehyung in the crowd. The boy looks wistful and frowns as he touches Jungkook’s forehead with his palm. Jimin switches on his legs next to them and is probably saying something but Yoongi doesn’t care, so he turns at the corner leading to the downwards staircase. Hogsmeade and its candies are awaiting for him.

 

***

 

Jimin was in the middle of one of Taehyung’s crazy stories from the transfiguration class when the breakfast ended. The kids all left the hall, only a few of them stayed until now but they started standing up as well.

 

“Hey Tae, you’re going to Hogsmeade, right? I think Jimin would like it,” one of the guys remarks.

 

“What's Hogsmeade?” Jimin asks confusedly, and Taehyung replies him with a broad smile.

 

“Right!” he prolongs, “Dear God, Chimchim, we are going to Hogsmeade! There are tons of fascinating stuff, and there is a candy shop selling the candies of every taste. You’re gonna love it, sweet tooth, let’s go!”

 

Jimin barely had the chance to realize what’s going on when he was already gripped on his wrist by his friend and pulled to follow the boy. However, they didn’t go too far before Taehyung suddenly stopped in the corridor, seeming to be looking for someone in the crowd. Then he headed in the direction opposite from the Gryffindor tower and a second after he released Jimin’s hand completely, diving in the sea of people and returning soon enough with a familiar naughty boy. Though, the boy looked somewhat sick, all flushed and with eyes sparkling sorely.

 

“Jungkookie, what’s up with you? You look.. Not good,” Taehyung babbles worriedly and leans to touch the younger’s hot forehead with his palm. “You’ve got a temperature! Why hadn’t you told me?!

 

“When do I have the chance to?” Jeon growls quietly and moves aside to get rid of the elder’s warm hand. “You’re with this ChimChim of yours the whole morning,” Jungkook mimicked the girls’ ultra high voices and turned to leave but was stopped.

 

“Where do you think you’re going to when I’m talking to you?” Taehyung tried to look strict but failed nevertheless.

 

“Gonna go play the ball with Hoseok-hyung”.

 

“Are you out of your mind? You’re already full covered in bruises and mud every time you play together, and with this fever of yours you can actually break something!”

 

“What are you saying, hyung? But on my third year not a single soul cared about I can’t even sit straight on the broom before the final game. They released the snitch and kicked my ass go fly. So you’re not the one to talk!”

 

Jimin was genuinely surprised his friend can act like this, but when Jungkook turned again to leave, Taehyung grabbed his hand carelessly, pulling him closer and gripping tightly the boy, who was hissing and trying to burst out, eyes shooting lightnings everywhere.

 

“Jimin-ah, you go with the others for now, okay? I’ll come later, after I deal with this kid”.

 

Jimin only nodded automatically in reply to his friend’s guilty smile, the latter turned and dragged the boy despite him trying to free himself constantly and yelling _“I’m not a kid!”_. Park didn’t have to stand on his own for too long, as Minho approached him rapidly from behind accompanied by a few other guys. The girls came closer soon, too, one of them handing Jimin’s jacket to him. Altogether they pulled the boy with them towards the castle exit.

 

Meanwhile Taehyung hauled Jungkook as in tow to their room. The younger boy was hissing curses as they passed the corridor and got scolded by ladies and gentlemen on the paintings. Finally, Kim pulled Jungkook into the common room. The latter attempted to run back out but was gripped tightly by the arm and dragged upstairs to their bedroom. The lock clicked, indicating the start of a very serious conversation. Jeon completely lost all the courage after being pulled to the bed with such force that he fell on his back on the blankets and bounced funnily. Although it wasn’t exactly the right situation for laughter, especially when Taehyung crawled onto the bed right after and sat on his hips, gripping his arms. And then he bent over so low that Jungkook could feel the other’s breath on his cheeks and so he froze right on his place, like a bunny in front of a snake.

 

“Stop being naughty,” Taehyung said quietly not breaking the eye contact. “You’re acting like a little offended child, Jungkook. I know you care about me, I’m your only friend, but this is not a reason you should be angry with Jimin. He didn’t get here by his own will, after all. You didn’t talk to him, you don’t know him for you to just hold a grudge against him. And I wished you could get on well with each other, because I care about both of you, but you ruined everything, Jungkook. And you keep ruining things, trying to do some thoughtless acts and being rude to me. You know how much I don’t like you being next to Hoseok”.

 

“He’s my brother, hyung,” Jungkook finally unfroze and spat the words into the elder’s face. “And if I don’t have the right to hate your oh-so-beautiful Jimin, you don’t have the right to forbid me talking to my brother!”

 

“At least Jimin is nice and kind and responding and sweet! And your Hoseok, he… He teaches you bad things and he’s a bad influence. I’m not even mentioning how he makes you, his blood brother, follow his “practice” that are supposed to make you shine in the game just to indulge his will to torment someone. But the only thing why you shine is the amount of bruises and cured broken bones! And what could happen if a bludger stroke your head? Have you ever considered this possibility?”

 

“Why do you care?”

 

“I’m worried about you!”

 

Silence fell, only being broken by heavy breathing of both boys. Jungkook stops trying to get out after all and just lies on the bed, and Taehyung lets go of his arms for there is no reason to hold them now. But he isn’t getting off of the boy, oppositely, he lies on him and lets his hands slip under the younger’s back. He hugs the other tightly, like a toy.

 

“Silly Jeon Jungkook, I’m worried sick of you all the time, and you’re only breaking your anger on me and doing nasty things. You mean so much to me, Jungkookie, so so much. Do I not show it enough? Why do you make me persuade you I care every damn time? Do I pay more attention to anyone? Do I abandon you for someone? Do I…”

 

“You’ve abandoned me for Jimin”.

 

Taehyung sighs heavily and pulls away, but Jungkook reaches out his arms and cups the other’s face, looking deep into those sad brown eyes.

 

“I'm getting jealous easily, hyung,” the boy whispered and pulled his lips to the other’s cheek.

 

He could only catch a glimpse of how Taehyung flushed red before closing his eyes and falling on the bed. Not faint, no, but the temperature was no joke thanks to one candy much like those from a skiving snackbox. It made everything go blurry and head hurt. Not a very comfortable state, would be gone only an hour later, maybe a bit more. His biggest will was to curl up and sleep to make the time fly, and also for Taehyung to be near, hugging him and caressing his hair. However, he probably is going to leave after the vagary Jeon have just performed.

 

 _“This is all Gryffyndor’s influence. Should have done it more carefully, more smoothly,”_ Jungkook had the powers to rebuke himself.

 

Right then his mind has gone completely blank as his shoes were discarded and he was lifted so that his head was on the pillow and then a blanket was thrown on him. He could feel a warm body snuggling up at him from behind, and the smell of a sweet cacao, the smell of Taehyung.

 

“Sleep now, bunny,” Taehyung whispered to his ear hugging tight and kissing him on the back of his head.

 

 _“I can pretend I don’t remember any of this, if anything…”_ Jungkook started to plan his retreat beforehand, but fell asleep right after.

 

***

 

Yoongi is not a peacemaker himself, and he was not going to intercede and step up to anyone ever. But he could invent many reasons not to just pass by when he heard pleadings for help and multi-voiced laughter in which he could differentiate Hoseok’s hourselaugh in particular. Starting from that apparently slytherins decided to disobey his order, hoping that neither Yoongi nor professors would find out anything since there is usually no one walking by in this area of Hogsmeade. Or they decided to just cause troubles on his head. And to finish, the high-pitched scared voice was clearly Park Jimin’s.

 

Yoongi was in a bad mood. Really bad mood. The bookshop told him his order is delayed, and there were no his favorite toffees at Honeydukes, because, as the saleslady claimed, one funny fluffy smiley charming kid bought them all. There were a hell lot of children of every age, but somehow Yoongi figured instantly that it had to be the same Park Jimin to be here earlier. Why does he even need that many candies? Perhaps the desire to have someone pay back was the real reason Yoongi decided to go help.

 

“So what the heck are you guys doing here?” he asked lazily, coming out from behind the snow-covered bowlders.

 

And there was the set. Hoseok, couple of his mates and two younger girls laughing nastily at the sight of Jimin flying upside down. It may have been hilarious in fact, as Jimin was all shaggy and twitched his limbs here and there hoping to accidentally fall down and run away. But his eyes were full of the animal terror. And the boy’s wish actually came true after Yoongi came to the glade, because Hoseok turned abruptly, hiding his wand. Magic flow stopped, and Jimin collapsed, howling in pain.

 

“Almost two meters high. He could have wrung his neck,” Yoongi remarked phlegmaticly as he looked into Hoseok’s eyes calmly. The boy gone pale.

 

“Yoongi, I…”

 

“Hyung”.

 

“Yoongi-hyung, I…”

 

“Get out of here”.

 

“Hyung, we just…”

 

Hoseok didn’t have the courage to continue, because Yoongi’s gaze became a few degrees cooler, and the other’s eyes watched fixedly, unblinking, making his knees bend. A second, and he steps aside carefully. One step, another one, then one more and more, as if he’s waiting for a curse to his back. But Yoongi only eye-freezing him, and then drives his attention fully to Jimin, who was standing up. The other kids used this chance to run away, even though that was useless. Yoongi memorized each and every one of who was taking part in this “amusement”.

 

Yoongi approached Jimin, who was up on his knees and breathing heavily, feeling hysterics coming up to hit him any moment. The elder went down on his knees and got his wand out. A couple of passes, short spells from a _“for every situation in life”_ miscellanea and the boy’s clothes are back to normal, and the warming charms enveloping him as a cocoon. Yoongi grabbed the boy’s shivering hand and helped him up, regarding him and nodding in satisfaction. Everything is fine, except for his crying face.

 

“I’ll lead you”.

 

Yoongi is about to go when Jimin pulls his hand out and takes a few steps back, watching the elder with umbrage and anger to his tormentors and himself for not being able to fight back.

 

“Why does everyone mock me? Why do I bother everyone? I don’t touch anybody, don’t do anything, don’t speak nasty things. I just want to get the hell out of here, but everybody seems to think I’m here to spoil their lives,” Park mumbles haltingly and bends over to grab a packet and hug it closely to his chest.

 

“Because you are weak. Because you can’t fight back. Because it is funny - to humiliate those who are weaker and drag yourself up from it. You are a newbie and you’re so defenseless, a perfect playing target. And also you are stupid enough to get into traps like this because otherwise Hoseok simply couldn’t catch you here where people don’t ever go. Your sufferings are a good amusement.

 

“But the others don’t touch me! Gryffindors are all nice and kind, Rawenclaws who talked to me were pretty funny, and on Hufflepuff there only study more nice kids. Only slytherins keep horning after me from the very beginning, and it hasn’t been twenty-four hours since I arrived! Why are you like this?”

 

At first Yoongi was slightly interested observing Jimin as the boy was smearing the tears all over his cheeks and sniffing. He even listened to the boy’s accusatory speech and stuttering voice, but at the last statement he felt something falling in his chest, and his face turned blank again. You. Why are you like this. Slytherins. Hoseok and his henchmen. And Yoongi too. Somehow, yet another one unjust accusation from aside hit him painfully. And while stupid gryffs who always talk trash were just tongues wagging so Yoongi didn’t ever give a damn, but this time it was even offensive. Did Yoongi scoff? Did he mock, did he flout, did he try to hurt or humiliate? Did he use the other’s weakness and defencelessness? No. Then why does he deserve this shitty “one size fits all”?

 

“That’s because there are only those filthy assholes in Slytherin,” Yoongi spat poisonously, repeating the phrase that got stuck in his mind since breakfast.

 

At this point Jimin lifted his head up and stared at the elder with his wet brown eyes. Then the pout appeared on his face as he realized his mistake and was going to say sorry, but does Yoongi need his apologies? What for? It’s all clear anyway, now this dandelion is going to sing odes to his house just out of politeness.

 

“I didn’t mean…”

 

“I don’t care, leave your pitiful bleatings for the other time, when one of ours wants to play with you. I hope you run fast, because I suddenly realized I have an important business and you probably don’t remember the way back to the castle, and here you can meet hungry wolves who sometimes team up with werewolves”.

 

Jimin didn’t have the chance to answer as Yoongi just vanished, airborning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author says she wants animagus Yoongi and she swears on Jungkook’s holy laps no one can stop her


	4. A not less hard Sunday morning;

_ “Because it is funny - to humiliate those who are weaker. Your sufferings are a good amusement,” _ own words echoing inside his head.

 

Yoongi did not spend a second in regret for telling all the truth. Why boggle, if the truth is simple and cruel? The stronger always lay the weaker low, enjoying the other’s worthlessness, feeding on fear, reveling in other’s shiver. But there is a stronger one for each strong, and hence the strong becomes the weak. This is what usually happens in life, and right now Yoongi is on the top of this pyramid. Lounging in a comfy armchair and spreading the legs closer to the fire, the boy settled his chin on his hand and observed his housemates intently. It was late, far further the go-to-bed time, especially for the youngsters, but the littlest movement - and Yoongi’s narrow glare fixes on the person, pinning him like a helpless butterfly. Everyone in the room, around ten people excluding Yoongi himself, are clearly nervous and don’t know what to expect.

 

Everybody is aware of what happened already as Hoseok had raved about it earlier in the common room and the girls didn’t hold their tongues as well. Of course, they knew there was a storm coming, and had gone to their rooms by now. And these just didn’t make it in time. Yoongi liked driving them till red spots on faces and necks, till sweat on their foreheads, till nervous tapping on the table or knees. They were all afraid of him, and there were reasons.

 

There were times when Yoongi was different, friendly and optimistic, had a few pals in other houses despite slytherins being hated. And then that “accident” with his sister, “revenge” to the affronter and trials, after which everything had changed. Practically Yoongi wasn’t proven guilty, but everyone somehow believed he was. Was it true or not, nobody actually knew, but he was feared of. When he became a prefect, the whole house almost hung themselves on their ties. Min was strict and punished severely, in comparison with his punishments cleaning cauldrons was a child’s play.

 

Furthermore, Yoongi didn’t shun poisons and other destructive infusions. That was when immorality and impunity woke up in him. If someone misbehaved, he didn’t start a verbal altercation, didn’t threaten and didn’t take out his wand. It was just one time someone suddenly appeared on a hospital bed with awful stomach aches. It is necessary to mention he wasn’t acting that boldly usually. Sometimes victims were just spiraling themselves causing phantom pains and other trifles. Anyways, even those who complained to the nurse about this all being Yoongi’s deed and asked to take blood tests, stayed with nothing. Because Yoongi knew how to make poisons that don’t leave traces.

 

Power and willingness to show everyone that resistance is futile and Yoongi will find justice for everyone left its mark. Yoongi became unsociable, cold and sullen. The boy used to love fooling around with Hoseok, but now each one of other’s jokes irritated him. Maybe because it was Yoongi who was called by the teachers to scold his house’s students and in their mandative tone say their hackneyed  _ “Yoongi-ssi, influence your housemates” _ . Influence grown-up ambals seniors? Influence impudent youngsters from first and second grades who think they are the center of the universe? Make them obey? Yoongi knew only one way to do it, and this was the way his mother taught him. Candent iron scratchy gloves. Perfect remedy for all problems. Yoongi had a dread of his mother, and so didn’t dare to take an extra step. The whole Slytherin house had a dread of Yoongi, and so the students behaved calm and reserved.

 

Naturally, there were times he was being substituted, and tricked, and cursed and gossiped about and even one time they tried to sabotage him out of despair. But Yoongi was smarter, more dexterous, more cunning. And more vindictive. It was just too late when everybody realized.

 

“Yoongi-ssi, will we go to sleep?” a third-year girl cautiously approached him and asked timidly.

 

Yoongi remarked her shivering fingers crumpling school skirt, remarked bravery in her shaking voice and couldn’t help scoffing, because this was really a question. Like if Yoongi would answer  _ “no” _ , everyone will sit here till the very morning. This is good. Right approach, although the girl hardly realized it. Of course, she wasn’t guilty of anything, but the Slytherin house is a family, where everyone is supposed to pay for both self and others’ mistakes. If the house loses points because of one student, it’s everyone who lose. Today Slytherin had a loss of two hundred and fifty points. Fifty points for each one of those who participated in that ugly incident with Park Jimin. Yoongi could have discarded less, but today in particular he wanted to stool everyone. He doesn’t care about rating. They will be first anyway. Of course, only if the others don’t want troubles and will work hard for the sake of their own house.

 

“You ask me? Interesting. Do you need my approval for you to go to sleep? I don’t remember you coming to me before with such questions,” Yoongi prolongs in smarmy voice.

 

He might be going too far. There are somewhat tears in the girl’s eyes. Yes, clearly, too far. A pleasing feeling of other’s helplessness warms him from inside, filling his veins. Dragging others down knowing you will get away with it. It’s indescribably nice.

 

“Stop it,” a rough voice from behind. “And you all, go to sleep”.

 

The voice is certainly Namjoon’s, and actually he is the only one who can rein up Yoongi if his games went out of control, but the girl is still waiting for the prefect’s approval, and Min even considers it cute.

 

“Almost two in the morning, you should be in your bed already. Scat away.”

 

A light hand gesture, and the youngers instantly grab their things and run to their bedrooms. Older kids use the sly to get away too, and soon there are only two people left in the common room. Namjoon crosses the small hall and sits in the armchair in front of Yoongi, giving the latter a heavy glare.

 

“I know what happened. And I know why you are being like this. But I don’t approve,” the boy says calmly and moves slightly further to steady his elbows on his knees and interlock fingers. “You’re overreacting”.

 

“And what if he really did break his neck?” Yoongi mimics the other’s position and leaves a little bit more than a meter in between their faces. “Yes, he was not that high, but he was upside down. He could have fallen on his head, breaking the whole cervical region. Or he could turn while falling and, yet again, wring his neck. He could unfortunately damage his spine and stay disabled for the rest of his life. It’s not about who was the victim, although particularly this time Hoseok and his brats’ turpitude is just impossible. It’s about a boy could have died. And the kids might have got the wind up and vanish away from there not telling anyone, because it was an accident and nobody wants to end up in Azkaban. The others would try to find the guy and maybe even would have if the wolves wouldn’t eat him. And the further the better because the sixteen year old boy’s body would have been delivered back home with a  _ “whoopsie-doopsie, the kids were naughty and well long story short broke your son’s neck, sorry for that.'' _

 

Namjoon’s gaze has gone so heavy that Yoongi couldn’t bear it anymore, although just a moment ago he himself was using that not blinking look that Hoseok hated so much. Min stood up from his place and got closer to the fireplace, leaning on the stoned counter and watching the fire dancing.

 

“I’m sick of their stupidity and forwardness, I’m sick of them not using their brains. Doing whatever they want and not thinking about the consequences for a mere second. They were bored, wanted to torment someone, and who else if not a defenceless boy could fit better, yeah? Cruel and unscrupulous, thinking they are allowed to do anything. No. While I’m here, it won’t happen”.

 

“Not on your watch?” Namjoon grinned.

 

Yoongi turned around and smiled a bit.

 

“Not on my watch”.

 

And then there was silence for a while, only disrupting with the sound of a moving portrait, letting inside a few of late students who darted into their bedrooms immediately. Yoongi didn’t pay attention to them, fully into his own thoughts, before Namjoon called for him quietly.

 

“How is she?”

 

“Alright. Studying in Beauxbatons. Often writes letters full of nasty contents, in which calls those  _ “unclouded chickens” _ those words I’m trying to memorize unwillingly because I’ve never heard or used ‘em in my lexicon before. Recently she told me she made progress in her french”.

 

“She’s learning colloquial?” Namjoon asked in awe, but Yoongi grinned.

 

“Vituperative. To understand what those envious chickens gossip behind her back and be able to snub them. But colloquial too. Said she’s missing us a lot, asked me to say hi to you and Seokjin. At the end of the year she’s going to come back home rather than stay at auntie’s, so she also asked you not to go away anywhere because she’s gonna organize a booze”.

 

“She’s strong. She’s very, very strong. She will be alright.”

 

A warm steady hand on his shoulder prevented him from falling apart even for a second. Yoongi smiled softly, turned to face his friend and nodded.

 

“Yes, she will”.

 

A moment of feelings was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. A knight in the black armour sitting on a black horse appeared on the painting above the fireplace and notified them about the Gryffindor prefect trying to get in. Namjoon slapped his hand on his forehead and went to open the door and let the guy inside. Seokjin came in, observing Kim, and then looked at Yoongi, who only moved his eyebrow.

 

Actually they three plus Hoseok used to be very good friends. They used to spend free time together, sitting in the library or walking through Hogsmeade, but times had changed. Hoseok started pulling off shit, Yoongi locked in himself, and Seokjin became a prefect right after what happened to Yoongi’s sister and decided to turn from a kind and friendly boy into a prison guard, afraid something similar might happen in his house. Gryffindors are too hot-headed, after all.

 

“So where did you get him?” Seokjin asks, and Yoongi can only blink, not quite comprehending the question.

 

“Yes, right, that’s actually why I came. Jimin didn’t get back to the castle. After you shooed those kiddos away, where did you get him?” Namjoon looked at him too. “I thought he’s in the hospital wing, but there’s no one there”.

 

Okay, perhaps Yoongi did a shitty thing. Very. Fine, he did a really awful thing. Jimin was scared to death even without all this rubbish, he was confused and almost hysterical, and what did Yoongi do? Acted like a typical slytherin moron. It’s normal, but not in this case. There are moments when you need to act honestly and don’t let your touched pride lead you. Yoongi really fucked this moment up a few hours ago, because:

 

_ “I hope you run fast, because I suddenly realized I have an important business and you probably don’t remember the way back to the castle, and here you can meet hungry wolves who sometimes team up with werewolves” _ .

 

Jimin really could hardly get back from that place even to Hogsmeade, where someone would definitely help him find his way back or even showed him the road out of kindness, because in that town there only live kind hearted and nice people, much like Jimin himself. But there is no Jimin in the castle. What if something happened? What if he got lost? What if he felt sick? And knocked over right on that place? And what if the wolves?..

 

“Yoongi, you didn’t do anything… did y-”

 

“I’ll get him back. Cover me up if anything or anyone needs me”.

 

Based on how Namjoon cursed to his back, both of the boys probably realized that Yoongi had actually left Jimin there. But there was no time for Yoongi to think about it. Or to think about getting a coat or a warm robe. Right now he only wanted to find Jimin, who is out there freezing completely alone and is surely scared to death. He wanted to fix his mistake, not to be tormented by his conscience. Not to see himself as much of a disgusting asshole as Hoseok became just recently.

 

It’s easier than a piece of cake to get out of the castle if you know secret doors. Yoongi did know them, so he slided out into the night unhindered, using warming charms on himself but still cringing because of a cold wind messing his hair. The boy looked around to see if there is anyone else and ran to the stoned staircase going down. Yoongi stood still at the end of it for a moment to hear the silence and then moved to the dark forest where not that far the apparation barrier was hidden. He crossed it and instantly apparated to “Honeydukes” because this was the first thing appeared in his mind somewhy.

 

The streets were empty, the shops and the houses were dark and only the lampposts lightened up his way, and maybe a few night lamps on the porcelains were spreading the soft golden light. Yoongi ran across the square and moved aside from the main road leading to the Shrieking Shack. He started to carefully move forward through the hidden path in the darkness of the night, not wanting to attract anyone’s attention with the light, but after Yoongi slipped over a rock twice, he realized it’s necessary.

 

A quiet  _ “lumos” _ and the small spot of light appears at the tip of the wand he gripped to the pain in his finger. It was easier to move now, so soon enough Yoongi arrived at the glade where he had left Jimin a while ago. The only thing was there was no Jimin there. Only the old trees, bushes and the snow covered with the animal tracks if looking closer. Scolding himself with the worst profanities possible, Yoongi went to the edge of the open place, where another path started. Jimin could probably go there. Min tripped over something appeared to be a bright red packet of tasty toffees.

 

“And where the fuck am I supposed to look for you?” Yoongi sighed irritatedly and was ready to step into the darkness again but didn’t get a chance to.

 

“Yoongi-hyung? Is that you?”

 

A quiet shaking voice was coming from somewhere above, so Yoongi immediately went back to one of the trees and moved up his wand. There, on the wide branch, was sitting a very pale Park Jimin with blue cold lips and almost burgundy colored hands.

 

“Hyung, you’ve come back for me after all…”

 

A second later the boy rolls over down and hugs Yoongi tightly. Yoongi unwillingly hugs the cold body back, rubbing the other’s back and casting warming charms although they are useless. Jimin needs a hot shower, medicine, tea and a warm bed.

 

“I knew you would come back, because Yoongi-hyung is not like the others,” Jimin continued babbling in a semi-delusional state. “I’ve been waiting, honestly, and then it was dark, and the wolves really came. I was so scared I couldn’t even scream, and then I was already on the tree. They were here very long time, and they howled so frighteningly loud. I thought you’d leave me here forever for good”.

 

Jimin’s forehead is on fire and his eyes are glistening, the boy can hardly move his tongue and Yoongi can’t understand how he is even standing straight. But that’s for the best, it would be a hard task to drag an unconscious body back.

 

“Jimin, hold me really tight, okay? Don’t you dare let go”.

 

Jimin didn’t answer, just hugged his neck tighter, hiding his cold nose under Yoongi’s chin causing goosebumps running all over his skin. Yoongi knew it was dangerous for both of them to apparate with Jimin, but losing time would be even more dangerous, because he could hear the howling nearby, and Park was on the edge of knocking off. So Yoongi took the risk. And thanks God, a second later they were in the forest, where in the next moment Namjoon appeared and picked Jimin up in his arms like he was weightless, all with no words spoken.

 

“I assumed you might need a helping hand. Was sure you’re gonna apparate. Seokjin went back to look after his own idiots, asked to get informed when Jimin is back. What’s up with him? Where was he?”

 

“Namjoon, can we not do this now? We need to get to the castle fast, and he stays with me. I’m the one to blame, I’m to take care of it too. Let’s speak later”.

 

“Later whom, I can guess what had happened”.

 

“Namjoon…”

 

“And you’re right, you’re the one to blame, you’re the one to take care”.

 

This was why Yoongi liked Namjoon. He was never a fan of jibber-jabbering. A couple of words and they’ve sorted everything out. The boys got to the castle pretty fast, but on their way to the dorms almost got caught by the old caretaker. Yoongi noticed his tattered cat and scared her off just in time for the old fogey to go after her meowing, clearing the way. Everyone was already asleep, so they managed to get to Yoongi’s bedroom with no troubles and put the boy into Min’s bed for the lack of another place. Namjoon rubbed his shoulders and left, satisfied.

 

First go Yoongi opened his cupboard and started rummaging there in an attempt to find the Pepperup Potion and a potion for cough just in case. A family house-elf whom Yoongi called for on rare occasions only, gladly brought a tray with a hot tea and a strange bouillon. When everything was ready, Yoongi tried to wake Jimin up, at the same time removing the boy’s clothes. He decided to leave the shower part for the next day, because the boy looked no better than a vegetable, Yoongi finally brought him back to his consciousness with the help of  _ “rennervate” _ .

 

“Okay, drink this,” Yoongi shoved a vial of potion into Jimin’s hands, “and then we’ll pour a bouillon and tea into you as well”.

 

“Where are we?” Jimin asked with a sleepy laziness, batting his sticky eyes and drinking the potion like a lamb, immediately cringing because of a terrible taste.

 

Yoongi mentally called him an idiot. Who in the right mind would drink or eat something out of a slytherin’s hands? This Park Jimin is not learning from his own mistakes, but it’s for the better in this situation, as Yoongi doesn’t have to force him.

 

“We’re in my room. Now take this, this is boillon”.

 

While Jimin was eating resignedly, Yoongi had the time to take a shower. The boy stood there enjoying the hot water and thinking about what he has to do next, but there was no answer, because the very question didn’t require one. What to do? Nothing. Get him to sleep, and tomorrow hand him into Seokjin’s hands and forget what happened. Nothing complicated, right? Right. Yoongi exited the bathroom, wrapping himself in a terry bathrobe as he forgot to take his underwear and sleeping clothes, and hoping Jimin is asleep. But he wasn’t. He was sitting straight on the bed and watching him with his dark brown eyes with a dancing fire reflection in them.

 

“Can I take a shower too?” the boy asked bashfully, and Yoongi sighed, moving closer to the closet.

 

“Go, but don’t stay there too long, you can feel sick”.

 

A towel and a spare pajamas set fled over to Jimin with a  _ “I’ll fit the size later” _ , and the boy disappeared behind the bathroom door right away. Meanwhile Yoongi drank a cup of hot cacao and changed into his pajamas, dryed his hair and wrapped in the blanket fully enjoying the warmness. He even dozed off a bit before Park finally got out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. The pajamas was too small, as expected, especially in thighs area, the fact that Yoongi remarked mechanically and threw out of head, taking his wand and pointing it at Jimin, who froze on the place at the gesture. He could notice a spark of fear in the other’s eyes before whispering the spell. The clothes formed into a fitting size, and Jimin exhaled loudly when the wand got back to its place.

“Do I have to sleep with you? Maybe it’s better for me to go to the couch in the common room or somewhere else?” the boy asked shyly, getting closer and putting a towel on the table.

“And then you risk not ever waking up or waking up in a pretty awful state,” Yoongi scoffed, fidgeting and getting comfortable. “Get in, don’t mess with me. I’m tired and want to sleep, the bed is wide, I won’t try to get your innocence. Lay down.”

It was a pleasure to watch Jimin blush and mumble something incoherent. But soon enough the boy got under the covers and curled, hugging a big soft pillow, pushing his face into it. Warm and comfy, safe and filled with maybe not the biggest but a very tasty dinner. And all this after Yoongi once again. Yoongi drove Hoseok away from him the first time. The second time helped him get to the Gryffindor tower. Third, saved him from the same Hoseok. And even though Yoongi left him at first, but came back and saved him again.

_ “Only slytherins keep horning after me from the very beginning. Why are you like this?” _

_ “That’s because there are only those filthy assholes in Slytherin”. _

Jimin moved closer in the darkness, as the lights went off as soon as he got into bed, and tried to descry the other’s face. When he caught a reflection of what was rest of the fire in other’s opened eyes, the boy drew in his horns, but found the courage either way.

“I’m sorry, Yoongi-hyung, okay? I didn’t want to hurt or insult you. You were nothing but help ever since, making it to where I was in trouble again and again, and when I said all slytherins are bad, I didn’t mean you or other kids. Only the pretty precise people headed by that Hoseok of yours, he just suffocates me”.

Yoongi stayed quiet for a while, holding back the impulse to say something about touchy-feely whimsical souffle, because it would totally hurt Jimin, and the boy was speaking completely genuinely. So Min took a deep breath and a few seconds later had the courage to ask a question that was in his head for a while now.

“How did you even end up there? Weren’t you supposed to be guided by Taehyung or someone of other gryffs?”

“I was. We were in that cafe, waiting for Taehyung, he promised to come as soon as he sorts things out with Jungkook. He’s a four-year on Gryffindor. He hates me too, by the way. Judging by that he’s acquainted with Hoseok there’s no surprise, maybe it’s contagious airborne or something? Either way, he got a temperature and Taehyung stayed to look after him. We waited for him for a pretty long time, and then decided to go walk a bit. I got kinda lost in the crowd. And then I saw a girl in a black and green robe. I was afraid to approach her at first, but I had no choice, and she was smiling so cutely, so I believed when she told me which way leads back to the castle. And so…”

“Befooled. Of course, she’s in Hoseok’s group. Would it be someone else, she might have helped honestly,” Yoongi remarked phlegmatically. “Jungkook is Hoseok’s brother. And the youngster doesn’t hate you, he’s just jealous of Taehyung for you, he’s mad in love with him from the first sight since he met him on his first year. And believe me, you don’t want to be in his way, as he is capable of pulling off some cruel trick, or talk to Hoseok to scare you away. I’ve talked him from stupid things for now, but I have no idea of how long it will last, Jungkook’s really hot-headed”.

Then there was silence, and Yoongi even thought he can hear a whirl of thoughts in Jimin’s head. Probably embarrassed and red faced.

“But they are both boys…”

“It’s not a problem in our world”.

“Taehyung is not gay, for your information”.

“Neither is Jungkook”.

“He’s only fourteen”.

“Which only makes him more dangerous. Kids are unpredictable, vindictive and don’t account for their actions”.

“But what do I…”

“Sleep. You can talk about it to Taehyung later, if you want, or to Jungkook, try to find a common ground, explain that you lay up no claims for Taehyung’s ass, that you don’t even look at him that way. Lie, shift, do whatever you want - your life depends on it. After all you have years to study here and two hundred out of hundred percent you’ll get sorted into Gryffindor, so you’ll have to communicate. Try to fix your relationships”.

Yoongi turned his back to Jimin and dragged his knees to his chest, starting to fall into the sleep and dissolving his mind in the silence and darkness of the room, when a noise from behind appeared.

“Yoongi-hyung, you’re talking about it so simply. It’s because here it’s a common thing or…”

“It’s because I am gay. And if you don’t get to sleep now, I’ll drive you out to the common room. And there we have Hoseok, and hardly in a good mood”.

Jimin obeyed instantly, and ten minutes later Yoongi could hear his fixed breathing. Fell asleep. Min bit his lips and looked at the simulated window showing a starry sky. He was trying to understand why he lied. Did he want to confuse the boy? Or to enjoy the other’s funny reaction once again? God knows. Yoongi is not actually gay. Neither he is a heterosexual. He’s more of an asexual, he was never interested in relationships and sex. A minute of pleasure, and the result? Relationships? Unplanned child? A worn out tired body covered in sweat and sperm? You can have the pleasure from eating a chocolate and indulging the hunger, and this is the real buzz. He wasn’t attracted by women’s charms, wasn’t by men’s shaped bodies. The only weakness Yoongi has is warm things, bright fire and nut toffees that were bought out by the guttler Jimin.

_ “This is what I will ask as the payment for my kindness,” _ Yoongi decided for himself, dozing off slowly.


	5. Still Sunday;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I would really appreciate it if you told me about my mistakes, misspells or if anything is wrong in general :') Personally, this is my favourite chapter, as the previously mentioned animagus Yoongi makes his appear here and woooo I'm excited!^^  
> Please enjoy the chapter uwu

It was a rather late morning for Jimin. After a night spent in a battle with fever and trying to figure out what the hell of a trash was poured into his stomach, the organism was not working as effectively as usual, and the whole body was feeling an unfamiliar bliss similar to the one you can feel after a long training session, as all the muscles are relaxed but are still on fire. And on top of that, Jimin had pins and needles in his ass since the whole night he spent in the same position - lying on his back. And he also had this strange taste in his mouth, as if he swallowed smoke or something. He had no idea that it was just a potion’s aftertaste and could not be killed by no tea or bouillon, tasting it on his tongue and painfully swallowing viscous saliva. Not the best feeling to experience. And he’s also very thirsty. And it smells sweat all over the place… Too late, but the boy realizes that even the pajamas’ pants he’s wearing soaked in sweat and perspiration.

 

Jimin reached his hand to his forehead and found it to be the usualest of the usual temperature, although covered in sticky sweat. He had probably had a terrible fever at night, otherwise why is he all soaked? Plus, the pajamas is really warm, and it’s hot inside the room, and the blanket seems so heavy and volumetric, like a huge cloud. And yes, it’s sweltering hell underneath. Jimin can’t seem to comprehend how can Taehyung feel cold under such a blanket when it feels like a sauna for Jimin himself. He can’t recall his friend being so sensitive to the temperature. Jimin sighed and turned his head to the side, observing the room.

 

But it was certainly not a gryffindor bedroom. The dominating green and silver, a large rosy wooden table and same wooden chair with a soft seat and back. Piles of study books and just some other books, notebooks and weird paper sheets rolled up in tubes, pens mixed with pencils and feathers, and on the shelf on the wall there is a pretty inkwell with a silver cap. Jimin figures, it might as well be real silver, not just a cover. Next to the table to the right there is a massive window, but it is clearly fake, because there on the other side of it is a beautiful view of a stormy sea and black sky. Tiny raindrops appear on the “glass”, and Jimin suddenly feels yearning. Memories of a pink sunset sky and first sunlight painting gryffindor bedroom gold are still fresh in his head. So breathtakingly alluring, so close to the sky, to the freedom. It’s nothing like that here in this cold dungeon, and slytherin students don’t even see that sky, only having pretty fakes for themselves.

 

His eyes wonders further across the room, noticing magnificent paintings of seascapes, decorative crooked lamps and two massive doors, one of which leads to the bathroom. The other, probably, is the exit. Next to that one there is another painting, but it is empty. Just a pretty but murky view of woods and a hint of spiers of castle towers far away behind those age-old pines. Jimin feels like the picture lacks something, or, rather, someone to fulfill the empty space, but he doesn’t want to think about it now, and so his gaze follows to the fireplace. The fire is still there, warming the air in the room. The logs crackle, the sweet smell of wood fills the place, and Jimin feels so comfortable and cozy lying in bed like that, it’s only too hot and it would be better to get rid of the blanket.

 

Jimin fidgets slightly and hitches up the blanket’s edge, moving it to the side. Once his chest is free of the downy cage it feels so much easier to breathe. And with it Jimin comes to two thoughts: first, where is Yoongi, the owner of this very room, as his memory gladly reminded him; and what is the weirdly feeling thing lying on his leg. Not just lying. Jimin is not a scaredy cat, but right now he feels cold sweat appearing on his skin. The tips of his fingers, which were numb before, started tingling, and his breath became unsteady. Not because something weird is lying on his body. Because this something was moving.

 

_ “Stop panicking. It can’t be anything dangerous, it’s Yoongi’s room,”  _ the boy tries to calm himself down and bites his lip.

 

Jimin didn’t have the time to figure out when did Yoongi start to associate with safety. Yes, Min saved him a few times, but is that really an indicator? Not to forget, Yoongi has actually plenty of negative or somewhat considered bad (by Jimin) qualities. Yoongi is morose and antisocial, you can never guess what he’s thinking. He’s got a sharp tongue, he’s rude and a bit arrogant, which were the facts Jimin discovered accidentally, witnessing Yoongi hissing at some underclassman. That other boy was wearing a similar black and green cloak, meaning Yoongi was hissing at the same house’s student. Yes, he was a prefect, and his responsibility was to lecture others, but take Seokjin - he was strict, but never scolded his students in front of others, preferring to handle everything internally.

 

“We’re going to discuss this later in our common room,” Seokjin usually said in a kind voice and smiled warmly.

 

_ “Danger! Run! To the end of the world! To the other Universe!!!”  _ a voice was screaming inside of heads of those to whom that smile was addressed.

 

Yoongi had a sinister look. It made people choke on their food or freeze, resembling much of an ice sculpture. Yoongi was always throwing the ugly truth right in your face, and he didn’t give a damn about who might hear his words. Yoongi always had this look on his own face, like he was going to murder each and everyone around him. And he had this cold, soggy and dreary aura around him. Jimin couldn’t help imagining either a withering autumn forest smelling rain, upcoming cold and rotting leaves, or a dark wet dungeon with water dripping and shackles clicking, small rat’s feet clattering and prisoners’ howling. Frightening associations. And Taehyung’s story of that vicious incident somehow involving Yoongi, did not make it any better. Jimin couldn’t restrict his curiosity, and when he was in a cafe with gryffindor students, asked carefully about what was that scary thing that happened. It turned out no one actually owned any information other than what the newspaper written about. And the newspaper had not written much, as the incident was hushed up.

 

And yet, this all so scary and creepy Min Yoongi was a symbol of safety for Jimin. It could be because he breaks the stereotype built in his head, turning out to be unexpectedly caring and kind, or it could be that without a hood hiding his face he looks like an ordinary shaggy rebellious teenager who dyed his hair mint as a symbol of revolt. Jimin was trying to think of a reason while he was taking a shower the other day. Yoongi was not tall, had rather narrow shoulders and far too slim legs for an eighteen years old boy, if Jimin was right about his age. Natural pallor combined with mint hair, light pink lips with slightly curved corners, like what cats have, a blue beating neck vein. Yoongi looked fragile and delicate in his baggy pajamas, and his wrists, sticking out of the sleeves, looked fragile too. The whole appearance of Min Yoongi resembled a pretty marble statuette, same alluring and same cold.

 

_ “And it is certainly not the best time for me to be contemplating about someone’s beauty”  _ Jimin shook his head, feeling that the something started moving again.

 

Why is he even considering Yoongi’s attractiveness? He’s not a girl. Which isn’t cancelling the fact that his eyes imagining those gentle lips, so appealing. It’s weird to consider someone’s lips appealing, but Jimin caught himself staring at them a few times already. A small upper one and a slightly puffy and bulging forward bottom one. It’s probably very soft. Jimin would want to find out, to press his forefinger tip right in the middle. Although it would hardly be a pleasure for Yoongi to feel somebody’s sweaty fingers on his face. And Jimin’s fingers would be sweaty as hell, because they already are just after thinking of the possibility. And because he feels a tiny bit uneasy imagining Yoongi cutting his hand off with another abracadabra if he could just read his thoughts. Yikes, eerie.

 

Jimin cringed and realized he was just trying to get himself distracted with those thoughts from a growing panic, because something kept moving on his body. This something was thin and flexible, long and oddly scabrous. Not too heavy but not too light and also warm. And certainly it was alive, because Jimin feels this something slides up over his leg, wrapping around it tighter. It gets scarier after it getting under his pajama pants and spreading all its length up to Jimin’s hip, snuggling up to the left of his right bone, and Jimin doesn’t have any underwear on him under those damn pants, and the fear for his dignity is the reason that wouldn’t allow him to move an inch. However, Jimin can feel that something reaching even further and ends somewhere slightly above his navel. He could have actually just look down and find out what is that thing, because he had already put the blanket aside, but the danger always looks bigger through the eyes of fear, and while this something is staying motionless Jimin can perfectly fine lie down not letting the panic grow any further and wait for Yoongi who had just happened to go somewhere else for a while.

 

_ “He could just be in the bathroom taking a look in the mirror as there’s no water sounds, or he could have just gone to have breakfast and he’s coming back soon. He couldn’t have left me alone in his room, in slytherin dungeon, could he? Otherwise why does he need to save me, I can’t even go out to the common room or bye-bye Park Jimin”,  _ Jimin closes  his eyes after the thing starts moving again on his body.

 

He doesn’t have any will or power to think about what it is. Therefore, Jimin goes back to thinking about Yoongi. Yes, it has to be that way. Min Yoongi is gloomy and callous, sarcastic and mean, but somewhere deep inside he’s still kind-hearted and sympathetic, he’s not capable of leaving someone who needs help behind, and on top of that, he’s awfully handsome, although handsome is not the right word, beautiful fits much better. And he’s also gay. Jimin’s cheeks flushed red when he remembered about that last fact, and he could swear his heart rate grew a few beats faster.

 

_ “It’s not a problem in our world.” _

 

What did Yoongi mean? That it’s normal to be in a same-sex relationship in this world? Then how do they make kids in such families? Or could a man give birth to a child with magical help? But males don’t have females’ organs needed for that. There may exist a potion for gender transform? Like, he’s a man from the outside but look in his pants and bam - he’s a woman. Maybe this is how one of two men is giving birth, and then becomes of full value again? But how can one agree to do such a thing? Jimin would never agree, it’s creepy and scary and…

 

With red cheeks, Jimin started to chew his own lip. Memory helped him visualize Yoongi telling him about Jungkook and Taehyung. Jimin was certain in his faith in Taehyung. Seems to be. He would have been, if they were spending more time together, but Taehyung was studying at Hogwarts and they could only see each other on holidays. He remembered friend’s letters. Taehyung had never ever written about any girl to whose skirt he would like to get his hand up oe at least kiss. Taehyung did write about Jungkook, though. About how sweet and cute he is, how strong and smart he is, how cunning and dexterous, determined and diligent, charming and practically the best in this entire world, and how his smile drives him crazy. Jimin just now realized that is was not normal for one guy to become crazy of another guy’s smile. Back then he was just jealous of Taehyung, who seemed to find himself another wonderful friend and decided to leave Jimin behind. Yoongi’s words made it look… Different. It made sense now.

 

_ “...try to find a common ground, explain that you lay up no claims for Taehyung’s ass, that you don’t even look at him that way. Lie, shift, do whatever you want - your life depends on it. After all you have years to study here and two hundred out of hundred percent you’ll get sorted into Gryffindor, so you’ll have to communicate. Try to fix your relationships.” _

 

Yeah, Yoongi was right on time with this advice, ‘cus it seems like Jimin would have to spend quite some time in this place, and Jungkook made it crystal clear that Jimin was not welcome here. But Jimin had no clue it was that serious. Jungkook is just fourteen, what love at this age? He should be focusing on studying well to be praised by adults and for his mom to buy him candies, and what is he doing? Guarding Taehyung like a dog. Stupid things aside, Jimin had to do something about that, because he did not plan to quit his friendship with Taehyung, but it took one breakfast for him to realize that the boy can’t spend a minute without Jeon. He would keep fidgeting, searching around for a glimpse of the other, and he smiles to him so happily, that…

 

“I would have to talk to them both. Separately,” Jimin sighs and opens his eyes after all. “Shit, why now…”

 

Yes it was scary, but his bladder couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to use the restroom, and it was impossible with that strange thing keeping moving under his pajamas. Jimin looked around for the last time, hoping for Yoongi to come in right at this moment, and his eyes catch Slytherin’s coat of arms on the wall. His heart immediately got stuck in his throat.

 

_ “No, no, no, no. No, that’s silly, it can’t be true” _ Jimin thinks and with all his courage looks down.

 

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth, because he can’t really see anything other than the raised up shirt on his chest. He looks all over his body and notices something white sticking out of his pants’ leg. Okay, this something is white. Long. Warm. Scabrous. Flexible. And really huge, as it managed to wrap around Jimin’s leg two times, its tail sticks from where his foot is, and its head is on his belly, Head. Tail. Long and scabrous. Flexible. He laughs hysterically, looking at the coat of arms once more.

 

_ “Nonsense”  _ Jimin thinks, when the motion starts once again.

 

_ “Nonsense”  _ Jimin thinks, when he sees a triangle mouth appearing with a glimpse of a red forked tongue.

 

_ “Nonsense”  _ Jimin thinks, when the snake’s head appears next, white and scaly.

 

_ “Jesus Christ I’m gonna scream” _ is his last thought.

 

***

 

Yoongi can’t say for sure how long is he lying with his eyes closed, but he doesn’t want to get up at all. He can’t find a reason to do so - he hasn’t got any classes to attend, and he could eat something at the kitchen, where kind local elfs would cook something better than oatmeal. they would be happy to do this little thing to make you happy. They are so weird, those house elfs. They do so much work, they endure beating and humiliating and still do their best to make their owners comfortable. It’s not like Yoongi cared, nut he had been a witness of them hurting themselves for the tiniest mistake. Why? It was stupid. Especially if the owners didn’t even see.

 

Yoongi turned to his side and listened to silence and Jimin’s breath somewhere close. It seemed the fever had gone completely, which is surely a good thing for Yoongi as well. It made him feel relieved and he was not dealing with a parody of conscience in his slytherin’s heart. Saved, brought to the castle, cured. The boy can be given back to Seokjin now. But, just a bit later, he doesn’t wanna wake up so badly. It’s so warm here, to the rate when Yoongi is ready to melt and purr. He loves it warm, he loves the hot spring slowly turning into summer, he loves it not the tea but boiling water, when the shower burning jets hit the skin like a whip painting it scarlet, when the heart beats ecstatically fast because of hot weather. Warm is good, fire is good, and Park Jimin, who, apparently, made this bed so warm, is good too.

 

Yoongi didn’t notice falling back asleep, but he wakes up in one moment after what feels like an earthquake. He opens his eyes, looks around and falls into a stupor. He sees soft skin and warm fabric of pajamas, but this is all too weird, because Yoongi would have to see his room or sleeping Jimin or…

 

_ “This is Jimin,” _ a thought strikes his mind.  _ “Shit.” _

 

He didn’t want to scare the boy, but neither he knew what to do in such a situation. He never slept in the same bed with anyone other than his sister, and it was in the early childhood. There were no unpredicted transformations taking place then. Yoongi was an animagus, not a werewolf. To change his looks he would need at least visualize his second nature. It was hardly possible to do so asleep. Although he does remember waking up a few times this night feeling cold and rolling over closer to Jimin, who was insanely hot because of a potion. And when Yoongi woke up the first time. he didn’t open up his eyes, perhaps he would have transformed already at that time? What was the point in guessing, though, when Jimin’s heart is beating that fast that Yoongi feels it with his whole body.

 

Some time he spends trying to come up with a plan and a few times he moves a bit, trying to free himself from the other’s clothes, but Jimin’s heart starts beating faster again then, and Yoongi is just worried poor boy might actually die of a heart attack right now, with his exceptional ability to get in trouble. And also Yoongi doesn’t really want to get out, because it’s warm and soft, and cozy and comfortable overall. But Park would hardly appreciate, so Yoongi moves forward with maximum caution, sticking out his head from the top of Jimin’s shirt.

 

Jimin looks frightened and shocked, and it’s likely he’s going to perform something insanely stupid like screaming or fainting. Yoongi doesn’t want to get either, so he slowly leans forward with his whole body, curling up in circles on Jimin’s chest and pausing, hypnotizing him with his gaze. Yoongi had never tried to use legilimency while in a serpent’s shape before, but he found it to be much easier when he’s closer to the Nature and, consequently, to the magic itself. The nonverbal spell feels to come out more successful than usual, and Yoongi sees Taehyung’s smile and Hoseok’s grin, he hears Jungkook hissing and suddenly sees his face. He sees Jimin leaning forward to him in his imagination, and how the boy touches his lips with his warm fingers, pressing and caressing. And then he sees an enormous white serpent staring at him and showing its tongue from time to time.

 

_ “I’m not that huge in this form, why exaggerate?” _ Yoongi snorts to himself distubed.

 

Jimin’s imagination did not reach its limit meanwhile. Yoongi sees the boy imagining the serpent dashing forward and digging its fangs into the delicate neck skin, and he moves his eyes to Jimin’s neck and a blue beating vein there. It’s throbs fast, the blood pulsing inside, and the heart in the chest is beating so much faster than any of the times before. The whole body is shivering, and it actually feels nice, and Jimin is still hot as hell. Yoongi wants to whirl around him and never let go, but the boy’s eyes clearly show panic. Yoongi broke the connection, he can’t see what the other thinks, but Jimin’s face speaks for himself.

 

“You look like you’re ready to gift your soul to God,” Yoongi prolongs lazily as usual, centering his body’s weight on the boy’s hips.

 

It takes just a few moments to transform, Jimin wouldn’t even blink twice before there was Yoongi sitting on him instead of a white snake. Uncombed hair, disheveled, with his shirt falling from one of his shoulders, baring pale skin. Yoongi, who chokes on his breath when Jimin abruptly sits up and hugs him. He’s so sweltering, alive, pleasant. Yoongi thinks about how there’s something wrong going on in his life, because he feels a long forgotten tension at his underbelly, as if someone is pulling his nerves like strings there, and it’s strangely pleasurable and warm.

 

“Hyung, I have no idea what did you make me drink last night, but don’t ever offer me those drinks. I have awful hallucinations after that slop,” Jimin mumbled in his neck.

 

And then pulled away abruptly, kicking Yoongi off of his hips and running to the bathroom with a slightly hysterical  _ “needa use the boy’s room!” _ . Min sprawled on the bed and stretched his limbs, and then rubbed his eyes, simultaneously absorbing the rest of the cooling sheets and pillows where Jimin was lying. Hallucinations it is. He has no ambition to explain anything, and nobody knows he’s an animagus anyway. There’s no need for anyone to know.

 

***

 

Taehyung doesn’t really like the nasty weather like the one that he can currently observe outside. Dirt, slush, damp, drizzle rain, plus the icy wind gets under the scruff of the neck. Grey murky sky was not giving any hope for sun, and it felt as heavy as if it was going to fall right on their heads. It’s nice to sit in a warm place during such weather, drink sugar tea and eat candies or buns, have an interesting book or a kind company. Or, at the very worst, a bunch of gryffindors all over the couches, armchairs and fluffy carpet in front of the large fireplace, joking around, telling funny stories or playing another game.

 

But this cold Sunday morning Taehyung didn’t even have a chance to have a good sleep, because of another stupid quidditch team’s training. What was the reason to conduct it this early in the morning and in such horrible weather, Taehyung didn’t know and didn’t want to either. In point of fact, he shouldn’t even complain since he’s not on the team and was not required to attend the court, but the tribunes were the one place where Taehyung could let himself relax a bit even in the cold wind.

 

Everything went down the wrong path as soon as Jimin appeared in the castle. All the worrying for a friend, fighting with Jungkook, Park getting in troubles constantly, fighting with Jungkook, another ugly incident with Jimin and slytherins, fighting with Jungkook again. So basically, two main problems: Jimin and Jungkook. The first one had vanished somewhere again, making Taehyung running off his feet looking for him through the whole castle. He would probably have continued running around if not for Seokjin, who caught him in the hall and surprisingly calmly stated that  _ “Jimin’s fine, he’ll be there for lunch” _ . Not  _ ”hello” _ , not  _ ”good bye” _ , not even where Jimin is right now. Taehyung was worried sick about his friend and he had even visited the hospital wing, but Park wasn’t there which was, itself, quite a relieving fact.

 

“I will snap him to me with magical chains for him not to disappear like that again,” the boy murmured, wrapping himself up in his cloak.

 

Of course, Taehyung did realize that it was his fault as well, as he wasn’t that good a friend to accompany Jimin to Hogsmeade and make sure nothing happens to him and he wouldn’t get lost, and for Seokjin not to rush away in an attempt to find Jimin, hissing something about  _ “rotten mutts” _ . Taehyung was going to do so himself as well, but was dragged away from the common room exit and told to sit still. Kim was running in circles, worrying and imagining all the worst, and then fell asleep right on the couch in the common room. But in the morning there still was no sign of Jimin neither next to him, nor in his bedroom. There was no point in driving himself crazy, so Taehyung made the sanest decision: to believe what his prefect’s said and wait until lunch, and then drag the soul out of Jimin’s body. Figuratively.

 

Then, why is he sitting on the quidditch court’s tribunes, watching the team practicing? It’s easy. The second problem named Jeon Jungkook. The seeker was whirling in air performing loops and somersaults, making Taehyung’s heart fall down to his feet. To be fair, Jungkook avoiding him ever since that jealousy accusation and childish cheek peck Jungkook fell dead asleep, and Taehyung did too, and when he woke up, the boy was already not there. He was also running away the whole following day, and he did it rather skillfully. They bumped into each other a few times, and Taehyung wanted to approach closer then, smiling as he finally found this leaping bunny, but the boy merely assessed him with a weird unreadable gaze, turned around and vanished behind the corner.

 

Taehyung felt vexed as he seriously couldn’t understand the cause of this behaviour of the younger. He was looking after Jungkook since his first year, he was protecting him from others’ assaults, he was fighting with housemates because they were ignoring Jungkook and oppressing him as much. So what if he was born in a dysfunctional family with bad reputation? That’s not what spoils a person, but such an attitude is what does. It causes the victim to become violent and start biting in response. Taehyung didn’t want Jungkook to grow up cruel, holding a grudge against the whole world, and so he tried to paint his gloomy days with a colourful palette, to warm him up with a tight hug and a kind smile. He even talked to the dean and to the prefect to let Jungkook and him live in the same room. That was against the rules, but Taehyung didn’t care. He was ecstatic for a week after seeing that bunny smile and hearing the  _ “I can live with you for real Tae-hyung?” _ . Jungkookie was so adorable and charming, it was just natural to want to nurture and nourish him as his own little brother.

 

It was, in fact, that at first Taehyung did that as a way to cope with the longing for Jimin, whom he was used to care for. But later, he grew to love Jungkook for real, he was happy to see the boy’s success more than his own, he granted him with his favourite sweets, helped with his homework, and, obviously, attended every match to watch the seeker, although he didn’t like quidditch very much. And now all this seemed to crash and fall down the hill, because Jungkook had done something stupid and chickened out not wanting to talk or meet and he keeps running away and overall acts not like a gryffindor but more like a…

 

“I always knew Hoseok would taint him. I should have taken a closer look,” Taehyung huffs and looks for the red figure high in the sky chasing the golden snitch.

 

Yes, Hoseok was Jungkook’s brother, and although the boy was mad back then, but he said the truth. Taehyung has no right to interfere with their relationship. But this Hoseok, he was such a nasty brat, he wouldn’t spare even his own brother. God knows how many times did Jungkook come back after their meetings all covered in bruises. All because, you see, Hoseok was strengthening him, training him and just didn’t catch the bludger in time. Why the hell did he even try to train Jungkook if he himself knows no shit about quidditch? But for some reason Jungkook still listened up to his brother, nevermind Taehyung considered him a rare dumbass and an arrogant prick. That’s where all their fights came from, because honestly, Taehyung couldn’t stand a single thought of there being someone else whose opinion and affirmation was valuable for Jungkook. But who was that someone! It’d be so much better if he was sweet-talking Namjoon for example, as that guy was often nearby being a childhood friend of Seokjin. Yes, he was a slytherin, but what a man he was! A role model for all the other slytherins, for all the brute bad guys and just an incredibly awesome upperclassman. Hell, he was smarter than the whole school except probably teachers. That’s Namjoon for you. That’s the good example. Not Hoseok, who can only make a wind spell to look under girls’ skirts in the hall.

 

“Actually, you should only take me as an example. I am your favourite hyung, after all,” Taehyung continued murmuring while looking for Jungkook in the dusky sky.

 

The boy’s confession dumbfounded and confused him, but it wasn’t that unexpected. Jungkook was always there, with an admiring look in his eyes, fervently getting rid of all the girls and boys who tried to come closer. It was, in fact, Jungkook’s fault Taehyung was an unkissed virgin in his sixteens. He was never interested in boys, as it was how he grew up, and the fact that in this world it was kind of normal to have same-sex relationships was not a big deal for him. However, after his pretty black-eyed bunny confessed to him, everything just turned upside down. Taehyung realized Jungkook was just fourteen, and he himself was not an adult to the least, but if the younger feels something so vulnerable to him, if that’s his first real feelings, he shouldn’t be left disappointed in the concept of falling in love.

 

_ “Oh don’t lie to yourself. It’s not him for whom you wanna make it wonderful, it’s you who’s scared he would find yourself a replacement with a face of some long-legged tattered cat” _ , the voice in his head noticed.

 

Taehyung shrugs his shoulders in response to an invisible companion. Why must he give his Jungkook to someone else anyway? He practically raised him, he supported him, helped in everything, he was always there for him, cherishing and fondling him. Taehyung has all the rights to keep Jungkook, right after the boy’s mother. And if Jungkook’s feeling attracted to him - it’s the stars’ wish. And every wizard knows, stars don’t lie! And by the way, Tahyung was practicing divination a while ago, and the tea leaves predicted big changes in his life, after which he would come to his happiness. He firstly thought it’s about Jimin, when he turned out to be a wizard, but apparently that assumption was a mistake.

 

“It surely pleases me, but if it continues this way I’m gonna turn grey before time,” Taehyung mumbled, still watching his “happiness”.

 

The training was over soon enough, and everybody went to the changing rooms.  Jungkook certainly would not go anywhere without taking a warm shower first, so catching him down there in the changing rooms was an opportunity he couldn’t let slip away. Taehyung went down from the tribunes and stood in front of a muddy sloppy field resembling much of a swamp instead. He could walk round it but it’d be too long… Thinking of how should he act, Taehyung missed the moment Jungkook appeared next to him, floating in midair on his broom. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and that made him wince and turn around. And immediately he smiled so wide and bright that Jungkook’s cheeks turned even more red.

 

“What are you doing here? You’re gonna catch a cold,” the younger looked away.

 

“Well you keep avoiding me and running away, I have to make sacrifices for you. I surely will catch a cold, and also this mud, and this rain, and this tupid wind are not doing any good!” Taehyung whined, showing off his condition through making his teeth chatter.

 

But one of many precious things about Jungkook Taehyung learned is that the boy was a little bit naive and rose to the bait easily. Right now his big round eyes were guilty and teary, and then he moved slightly aside, freeing the space on the broom for Taehyung to sit.

 

“Get on, I’ll give you a ride to the changing rooms. And then we’ll go to the castle, it’s almost lunch time.”

 

Taehyung couldn’t be happier. He crawled onto the broom instantly and felt with pleasure how Jungkook’s warm body touched his from the back, as the boy wrapped his arms around him to keep the broomstick steady. Taehyung didn’t like flying, the brooms usually didn’t obey him and threw him off, nut flying like this with Jungkook was nice, comfy and overall awesome. They’ve reached the place, Jungkook went to change and left Tae to wait for him on the bench. He was examining the sports equipment and brooms in the corner meanwhile, and then turned to examine Jungkook, who had just finished taking shower and was now getting dressed quickly. Tall, athletic, fit, muscular, wide shouldered. He’s still a boy, but he already looks too handsome.

 

“Hyung? Let’s go.”

 

The other’s voice drags Taehyung out of his thoughts, Jungkook looks troubled, and Taehyung decides somehow that this is the best moment he could ever have. So he stands up, grabs his face with his hands and presses his lips to the lips of the other, leaving a soft, innocent kiss. The cheeks under his palms flush red, Jungkook tries to formulate some words and Taehyung smiles.

 

“This is my first kiss. And I’m giving it to you. Then, Jimin is my best friend, so you have no reason to be jealous, as he could never take your place. Now, let’s go, your hyung is freezing and starving to death.”

 

Taehyung’s smile and flashy red cheeks were illuminating the path he was taking as he walked towards the castle. Jungkook caught up with him soon enough after standing behind bewildered. He was at first simply walking next to him, then gathered his courage and carefully took the other’s cold hand in his own. And seemed to lighten up, when Taehyung squeezed his fingers in response.

 

That was not love, that couldn’t be love, but it was already a strong mutual affection, with an addition of tenderness and jealousy, possessiveness and the desire not to share one’s own with anyone else. They were just kids. Jungkook - by his age, Taehyung - by his thoughts. It didn’t matter though, all the kids grow up eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It woould be nice if you left some comments below btw, just to let me know I'm doing all this not as a waste of time... Which it, apparently, is lol


	6. Sorting;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It just hit me that I have no idea how to translate the upper case and lower case words in a right way so please forgive all my "slytherin"s in lower case and all that I'm just trying to keep the style of the original :( And if you find any more mistakes please tell me in the comments so that I can fix it~  
> Please enjoy!^^

Jimin was aware of the fact that he would have to eventually leave Yoongi’s room even if he didn’t want to. It was so due to multiple reasons. First of all, it was comfortable there. Secondly, no noisy kids and a constantly opening and closing entrance door whenever somebody was looking for something. Thirdly, Jimin did not really like vivid colors, and the amount of scarlet, gold and orange in Gryffindor common room caused a headache. In Yoongi’s room, on the contrary, green, silver and dark blue colors prevailed. Green color is considered comforting, right? Jimin was lying on Yoongi’s bed examining the virid baldachin, thinking about how that bed is also very bid and mushy, and it was so comfy to sleep on it.

 

His gaze wondered around and stopped at Yoongi, who was sitting at the desk writing something on a piece of parchment with a thick black pen. He mentioned he needed to write a letter to his mother first, and then they’d go to lunch. Jimin didn’t want to go to lunch though, where everybody is going to stare at him again, and Taehyung is likely to throw a tantrum after his sudden escape. It somehow seemed to Jimin that his friend knows his whereabouts but it wouldn’t cancel his love for making noise. Hot-headed but easy-going. And there should be Jungkook sitting next to him like a heavy cloud. Jimin would hardly want to eat anything in such circumstances.

 

“Yoongi-hyung, will we meet again?” Jimin asks timidly.

 

Min turns around, looks at him without blinking, and the boy draws in his horns, looking away. It must be an extremely stupid question, as it’s just the beginning of the spring, and the school year is far from being finished, and Jimin is obviously sruck here, which means he’s probably going to see Yoongi at lunches and breakfasts, in corridors and the library. Though, that’s not exactly what he meant. If Gryffindor and Slytherin are really at war, as the lions had depicted to him in detail, then Yoongi wouldn’t have any reason to talk to Jimin as they would be rivals. But, Park didn’t want to stop their interactions. In this short amount of time they’ve spent together he grew attached to the slytherin prefect more than he should have.

 

“Of course. I’m more than sure you’re going to continue getting into troubles, and me with my “luck”? Won’t be surprised to find myself nearby,” Yoongi noticed with a small laugh.

 

Jimin just let out a sigh and got up, because Min has finished his letter and was already changing into his robes. Jimin did the same, but he couldn’t not notice that on weekends, many students don’t wear their school uniform, so it was not compulsory. Still, Yoongi did wear it, so Park decided to follow the example. Just in case. Yoongi turned around before exiting, assessing him meticulously, and then approached him and fixed his tie. Scarlet-gold, speaking of, which made the slytherin cringe his nose.

 

“I hate this color,” Min took a step back. “That’s better. Let’s go.”

 

Jimin had found his clothes folded impeccably neat on the shelf in the bathroom this morning. It was cleaned and smelled some tasty herbs, but Jimin figured it wasn’t Yoongi who washed it. Decided it’s all magic tricks, Jimin smiled to himself and got to change after taking a shower and brushing his teeth. So, he was all ready to go out, except he needed to stop his knees from trembling. But it was easier said than done.

 

“Now you’re just gonna quietly follow me, not looking around or answering whatever questions or wisecracks. Although it’s more likely there is no one there, everybody’s probably already gone to lunch,” Yoongi stopped for a second to look at Jimin.

 

The boy had no other option but to nod. His fears did not materialize, though, as the common room was empty, and they didn’t meet any other slytherins on their way from the Dungeons to the hall either, which made Jimin smile happily. After everything that happened, he fell the victim of Prejudice, and now all the slytherins seemed bad to him. Except for Yoongi. But Yoongi was something entirely different in all ways.

 

When the two of them appeared together in the hall doors, whispers predictably walked through the hall. Gryffindors had their mouths agape as they witnessed their epic entrance: Jimin stepping over his robes and almost having his face meet the floor if not for Yoongi, who caught his arm. And it was not so because the missing Jimin came back with Min Yoongi. It was mostly because the same Min Yoongi just helped another person without spitting out caustic comments, and he showed emotions so openly. An event never witnessed before. Slytherins had gone quieter with the appearance of those two as well, but they were mostly watching Yoongi, remembering what happened the evening before. Min made it clear that it wouldn’t be just the points taken, so everyone was on edge.

 

“Jimin-ah?” Taehyung got up from where he was sitting, looking perplexedly at Jimin and Yoongi.

 

“And here I was, thinking that you’ve finally fell from the stairs and broke your neck,” Jungkook shook his head disappointed.

 

And received a cuff on the nape almost immediately from Minho. Hoseok laughed shortly at the line, but Yoongi’s cold gaze pierced him, making him lower his own eyes to his plate. Jimin turned to Yoongi, gave him a warm and open smile, whispered  _ “thank you” _ and went to the red table where Taehyung was fidgeting in his seat. Yoongi nodded in response and headed to the green one. He assessed the students and noticed the absence of Namjoon, and that made him smile unintentionally. That smile made everyone else shiver though.

 

“Have a nice meal everyone,” Yoongi said flatly, sitting to his place in front of Hoseok.

 

The silence seemed to become even thicker after those words. It was usually that Yoongi wished them a nice meal only when someone was near to go to the hospital ward. Most of the students had already finished eating by this point, as they didn’t have anything to fear - Yoongi was absent at the breakfast and at the beginning of lunch, when could he have the time to poison someone’s food? But now most of them seemed uneasy, doubtfully looking at their plates and glasses filled with juice or tea.

 

“Hoseok-ah, I need to talk to you,” Min said quietly, propping his chin on his hand and starting to examine his friend, who exhaled nervously.

 

Hoseok had the guts to throw a look up at him and then look back down. He really hated when Yoongi was talking in such manner. When he was looking at you intently and disturbingly, tilting his head aside. A thoughtful gaze, sliding across your body, like a sharp blade of a knife that can cut through your flesh at any moment. Hoseok actually was sure somewhere deep inside that Yoongi had gone insane after what happened to his sister. Even if all of the many check-ups and inspections during and after the trial confirmed Min being mentally and magically stable. But, in moments like this, a vague, deeply hidden fear taken over Hope, as if Yoongi was really capable of hurting him.

 

Meanwhile, the silence at the Gryffindor table turned into hum. Each and every one wanted to ask something, the girls intended to hug and examine his body for having any wounds or bruises, the guys being the gryffindors with their brave and reckless  _ “just say a word, we’ll teach him to live!” _ . Jungkook was sitting oh-so-unfortunately in front of Jimin, staring at him with a malicious smile, making his food get stuck in his throat; and Taehyung was whispering to him about how he was all worried looking for him till late at night, and how he was waiting for the news from Seokjin, and how he rushed to search for him again today, but all in vain.

 

“Why have you even turned up next to Yoongi again? Why not anybody else?” Taehyung whined in disapprovement, looking at Jimin as if the boy was the one to blame.

 

Park felt honestly offended, even. Why is everybody scolding him for something unthinkable? Why do they prohibit him from talking to someone he wants to talk to? Why is Taehyung criticizing him right now instead of being happy his friend is doing alright which he is supposed to do? And Jungkook assents to the elder, and his smirk resembles more and more of a malevolent grin. The boy was obviously enjoying this tiny quarrel, considering Jimin was already tomato red. And Yoongi is being taunted again. He actually has done more than anyone else for Park during his stay in the castle. He helped, nourished, warmed, healed, cared more than his own mother did. Why should Jimin just ignore that and a priori hate the slytherin just because somebody can’t get over their prejudgement? Even Seokjin is getting sideway looks and whispers behind his back because of his friendship with Namjoon, and they are childhood friends! So why do they need to cross out their relationship just because of a different tie color? Jimin could distract himself from those thoughts and start his lunch, but Taehyung was pulling at his sleeve constantly. Eventually he spilled the juice onto the table and his vest, lost his cool and stood up at his feet abruptly.

 

“Can you just leave me alone?” he hissed at his friend madly, and the other just stared back at him, taken aback.

 

“Oh,  _ “can you just leave me alone?” _ ” Jungkook instantly simulated him in a mockingly falsetto voice.

 

And received a payback. All the juice left in the glass in the next moment was all over Jungkook’s head. The boy could not have predicted such an ambush, so he just gawked at Jimin in disbelief. Meanwhile, Park got out of the table and headed to the one where the slytherins were seated. He was perfectly aware, though, that Yoongi can actually tell him to go fuck himself just to maintain the reputation of a cold bastard and insensitive egoist of his, and this fact made Jimin slow down a little bit, but in the end he stopped next to Yoongi, who was scanning the tabletop flegmatically and seemed completely unbothered by all the fuss.

 

“Hyung, can I lunch with you?” Jimin asked quietly and timidly.

 

Min looked up in surprise, observing him as if he was some kind of a miracle. His gaze then turned to the gryffindor table, and lips sprawled in a grin when he noticed Jungkook, drenched with something and barking at everyone, and Taehyung next to him, bustling with napkins and a wand. Judging by all the looks Jimin was receiving right now, it was the boy who gave Jeon junior that face, as red as gryffindor flag.

 

“You’re nothing but troubles, Park Jimin,” the prefect stated quiet and aloof.

 

Jimin couldn’t quite define it as a  _ “yes”  _ or  _ ”no” _ , but took a step back, just in case. Min smirked, looking at his indecisive little face, and nodded to the seat next to him. And couldn’t hold back a short chuckle. Jimin smiled, so wide and bright. Immediately flopped down on the seat and began to gobble up a ruddy bun with strawberry jam, washing all this down with the tea from the cup that appeared for him. Yoongi would gladly watch this funny boy filling his cheeks more, but he wanted to eat, too, not to mention they have already driven attention. Min wasn’t an emotional guy, especially in public, who has only seen an icy mask of aloofness on his face for the last few years, and he wasn’t up for the “show”.

 

“Park Jimin, shouldn’t you be sitting at the Gryffindor table?”

 

Seokjin appeared unexpectedly as usual, frightening with his voice. Yoongi assessed him lazily, and then assessed Namjoon, who stayed behind. He looked at Jimin with a noticeable interest, as the boy seemed to have shrunk under the red house’s prefect’s harsh intonations. Their eyes met, his and Yoongi’s, and he raised his brow, showing curiosity, interest and tons of questions and Min groaned inside beforehand, because Namjoon will not leave it behind just like that.

 

“I just… Um…”

 

Jimin didn’t really know what to answer. He was actually scolding himself for his bad temper for the last two minutes already, after all, how dared he lout Taehyung? It’s Kim TaeTae, his friend, his almost brother. his pain in the ass and just a good boy. Taehyung was worried about him, why was Jimin acting so harsh? But as he just imagined Jungkook’s grin, and the annoyance is back. God knows why is Taehyung connected to that, but he is. Jimin might have been still angry that he lost the spot of one and only unexcelled in the heart of the only darling person he had.

 

“He has the right to sit where he wants,” a quiet voice spoke from behind his back, and Jimin turned around to face Yoongi.

 

He somehow had forgotten everything after looking Jin in his strict eyes, and the support felt unexpected and therefore pleasing. Seokjin looked at Yoongi as well. So did all the students, who were genuinely enjoying this little spectacle, whispering and gossiping.

 

“He’s under my responsibility,” Seokjin frowned.

 

“But he’s not your housemate. He has the right to sit at the Slytherin table.” Yoongi countered with sparkles in his eyes.

 

Jimin couldn’t understand how exactly did that happen, but the white sparkle that ran through the dark amber iris made his feel uncomfortable. Hoseok even choked on his tea noticing that sparkle, but no one cared. Jimin couldn’t figure if he should do something and what he should do. Yoongi and Seokjin played peepers with each other while Namjoon was clearly having fun watching them all go.

 

“Yoongi, I’m not gonna argue with you. It was you who brought the boy to me. And we both realize Jimin’s going to end up in Gryffindor, so it really isn’t worth it for you to interfere.”

 

Yoongi couldn’t hold it together anymore, and so he laughed at Seokjin’s statement. Quietly and hoarsely, but this laugh seemed to cool down the temperature inside two degrees at least.

 

“Oh, is that so? And I think Jimin is too much of a coward to be with you lions. But it wouldn’t matter, right? Gryffindor always took every rabble,” Yoongi spitted out standing up and approaching Seokjin.

 

“Yoongi, aren’t you a bit out of line? It’s not my job to remind you where the real assholes are reveling in their impunity,” the elder looked down on him.

 

“Don’t play this card on me,” Min grimaced, his eyes getting dark. “Of all places, we are the ones who don’t have any bad seeds. The hereditary magicians don’t fuck whores, who give birth to bastards.”

 

To this testimony Seokjin rushed forward, grabbing the boy by the collar and roaring almost indistinguishably. It was way out of what Namjoon could tolerate. He squeezed Seokjin’s shoulder tight, dragging him back to his side. At the same moment Hoseok jumped closer to Yoongi, pushing Jimin, who was trying to help, aside, and personally dragging the boy away from Gryffindor’s furious prefect. However, both of the boys were still trying to get closer to each other, not giving a damn about the rules, and it was harder and harder to hold them. Hissing mixed with threats, Seokjin reached for his wand, and Jimin, scared as hell, could notice Yoongi’s eyes changed again for a second, pupils elongating and irises brightening up.

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

A loud and strict voice from aside cooled down the tempers of everyone who was involved. Yoongi stepped back, shaking off Hoseok’s hands from his shoulders and pulling the mask of coldness and contempt back on his face. Seokjin froze in place, too, breathing out loudly and turning abruptly to face the woman in blue robes standing in mere two meters from him. Jimin figured her being Head of Ravenclaw house, half because of the amount of blue in her clothes, half based on his intuition.

 

“We’re sorry, professor,” Namjoon replied respectfully. “Just a slight misunderstanding on the basis of divergent opinions on the subject of the dispute.”

 

“Disputes can be solved in other ways, young men” the woman responded rigidly. “You’re both prefects, what role model are you being to your houses? I hope it won’t ever happen again, though. Park Jimin, please follow me.”

 

Jimin could see this day granting him surprises, including the not-so-nice ones. He just had a feeling that he’d get into trouble right after he leaves Yoongi’s room. And judging by the look on the professor's face, so he did. He threw a glance to Yoongi, who sat back at the table and continued ignoring everyone and everything, diligently spreading the jam on the toast; sighed quietly and wandered down after the woman. What he didn’t expect was that he would be led not to the headmaster’s office or any other classroom, but to the long teachers’ table where there only were a few teachers. No headmaster.

 

“Jimin, this is a Sorting Hat. Put it on your head and don’t panic when or if you hear a voice inside. This hat is magical, it can see your nature, and it would decide which of the four houses you belong most to” the professor said, giving the boy an old and battered hat, patched and extremely dirty.

 

Jimin couldn’t stop himself from sighing, looking skeptically at the hat. Seriously? Magical hat which will decide his house? And there he was thinking that the Sorting is held in some other way, that the headmaster or the teachers do the work, maintaining the approximately same amount of students in all four houses, but the real thing was so stupidly simple? Jimin examined the hat again and put it on. And nothing. No voices, no weird feelings, nothing extraordinary.

 

A thought that Jimin was right from the beginning creeped into his head. It’s just a mistake, he was mistaken for some other magician. And then on the spur of moment, the regret hit him. If that’s so, Jimin would be sent home. But… He didn’t really want that now. He turned back to the crowd of students, who all went silent, and found Yoongi. The boy was still sitting at the table, but he didn’t look back at Jimin, busy observing the surely very interesting and extremely pretty tabletop. Jimin suddenly realized that if he goes home now, he won’t never-ever see this grumpy slytherin with beautiful mint hair and pale skin. An Yoongi is always alone, completely alone, except for Hoseok being around but in Park’s humble opinion that was not the best company. Somehow, he felt bad for the slytherin. He must be feeling very lonely, not having anyone to talk to, to take care of him, and so Yoongi starts intimidating others. He’s probably just bored and hurt that everyone has friends and he doesn’t. After all, behind all those masks of his, Min’s not so scary at all.

 

His gaze travelled across the hall to the Gryffindor table then. Taehyung was still there, looking worriedly at Jimin. Their eyes met, and Kim smiled wide and warm for him, making his heart skip a beat. Taehyungie is just so kind and outgoing, never holding the grudge, accepting you as you are, and how happy he was when Jimin got into Hogwarts. Almost strangled him in his hugs. Jimin feels so warm because of that. But his eyes see Jungkook then, who looks at him with a squint that doesn’t speak good. Or it was his usual face, how could Jimin know if the boy just always looks like he ate a lemon a second ago. Jimin would actually like to study with gryffindors, there’s Taehyung there, and that nice guy Minho. The girls are cute, too emotional sometimes though, and even Jeon Jungkook… Jimin would try to fix their relationships nevertheless.

 

_ “But what is the difference which house I’m studying at?” _ he thought, looking over the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff’s tables.  _ “Every house is where magicians are studying, and the Sorting just creates more boundaries, and even requires something in return. Gryffindor - you need to be brave, Slytherin - sneaky, Ravenclaw - smart, Hufflepuff - hard-working. Isn’t the person supposed to go through all of that together?” _

 

Jimin’s eyes caught Yoongi again, the boy was grinning viciously, telling something to Hoseok, who looked down. Perfect example. Min Yoongi is a slytherin, vindictive and rude, always scolding all the people around him. But Jimin was certain, that the green  house’s prefect is very smart, otherwise he wouldn’t have all those books and parchments with notes, scrolls drawn schemes and recipes. Isn’t that the Ravenclaw trait? Yoongi-hyung is very brave, if he’s not afraid to face all the dirty talkers even in his own house. Gryffindor trait. And Min is very determined, or he wouldn’t be the best student of his house. And Taehyung mentioned that people are scared of him because if Yoongi starts something, no matter if it’s homework, potion or revenge, he finishes the thing. Hufflepuff.

 

_ “Wherever the person is sorted, he would combine all the traits, some are just more vivid,” _ Jimin continued to ponder, looking at the flag of the green house, at the snake pictured on it.  _ “Then, isn’t it more appropriate to let the person decide for himself? If I was the real magician, I would probably choose Slytherin. Not that I’m bad and vile and wanna become a dark magician. I just think, Yoongi-hyung would probably be happy if I was sorted there. And I feel somewhat even more comfortable and at ease with him than I do even with Taehyung.” _

 

The silent hall started to be filled with creeping whispers. The hat on Jimin’s head hasn’t said a word for five minutes already, and this was oddly long. Usually the sorting was fast, the most complicated cases took around twenty seconds, but it was dead silence. And Jimin looks kinda aloof, looking at everyone and no one at the same time, sometimes blinking and obviously being deep down in his thoughts. The Head of Ravenclaw was obviously getting nervous, tapping lightly the toe of her shoe. Tap-tap-tap. Jimin turned back to her unwittingly, smiling embarrassed when he realized something was clearly wrong.

 

“I’m sorry, it must have been a mist-”

 

“Park Jimin - Slytherin!”

 

Jimin had already been in a lot of struggles, he was a victim of Hoseok’s mocking and he almost died of fear after waking up wrapped by a giant snake which was certainly going to eat him alive. He wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone anymore, or so he thought before a loud hoarse shriek sounded from above his head making him jerk with his whole body and press his head into his shoulders. And then open his eyes, turning to face the students, opening his mouth slightly in shock.

 

“This is a mistake! Jiminie can’t be a slytherin!” Taehyung screeched almost hysterically, standing up from his seat.

 

“That’s right! His place is in Gryffindor!” some girl who was clearly charmed by Jimin from his first appearance in the red common room acted up as well.

 

Jimin looked perplexed at Taehyung, who was almost kicking himself, at Jungkook, who looked bewildered second time that day, at Seokjin, who looked back with suspicion in his eyes. The professor approached Jimin, took the hat off of him and smiled.

 

“Well, Park Jimin, congratulations being sorted into Slytherin. And, disregarding your case being rather unique, I hope you’ll learn everything soon enough. Slytherin prefect Min Yoongi will tell you all you need to know, introduce you to the housemates and help you feel comfortable. Regarding your classes - the headmaster will be waiting for you in his office at six o’clock this evening. You may go.”

 

Jimin was only able to listen and nod politely, going downstairs on wobbly legs. He just made amends with the thought of the end, finita la comedia, going back home, and now bam - such a plot twist. However, he wasn’t given a chance to lose himself in a whirlwind of thoughts, feelings and doubt, as Taehyung threw himself onto the boy and hugged him tight, hiding his nose in the other’s neck.

 

“Jiminie, this is some awful mistake, my chubby cheeked cinnamon bun can’t turn out to have rotten apples inside. I know you’re so kind and open-hearted, you can’t go to Slytherin, they’ll decay you or they’ll hurt you, you’re still so naive,” Taehung whined, tightening his embrace more and more.

 

Jimin couldn’t stop smiling, hugging his friend back and questioning himself about how did he even have the guts to flare up? It was still his lovely sweet TaeTae, who worries about Park more than he himself does.

 

“Everything’s fine, Taehyung-ah. If I’m studying in Slytherin, so what? Not that it’s gonna change our relationship, you’re like a brother to me! I’m not going to think of you and other guys badly, because we were together for such a short time but I figured them all being wonderful people. Even that mischievous impudent Jungkook of yours is not that bad. I guess. I’m not really sure but I had to say this, right?”

 

Taehyung laughs excitedly loud, steps back and looks warmly at him. Nods and smiles, ruffing the other’s hair.

 

“If anyone hurts you, just say a word, I’ll take care of it.”

 

Jimin has nothing to say but to nod. Passing by the red table, the boy stopped in front of Seokjin, who glared up at him.

 

“Thank you so much, Jin-hyung, for taking care of me all this time. Even in your strict manner, and even though I got you a headache, but I’m still extremely grateful.” Jimin thanked the elder and headed further.

 

Maybe if he didn’t turn back so quickly, he would have witnessed a miracle that stupefied all the gryffindors who noticed. Because Kim Seokjin, the prefect and a draconian prison guard, smiled to Jimin’s back. The boy didn’t see that, as he reached the green table and stopped at Yoongi. He looked up at him phlegmatically and smirked almost unnoticeably.

 

“Troubles, Jimin. You’re nothing but troubles.”

 

But there was something warm and familiar in his intonation, that made Jimin smile and nod in agreement. He was right, Yoongi seems to be happy about Park turning out in his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note:  
> “I pranced from the original plot again. Honestly, I wanted to describe the sorting as it is here: https://twitter.com/kkumrii/status/835870609796059137 (as a translator I find it lmao hilarious eshkdjfdsfgk and the earth stopped rolling jfhdhfdjhfdjhfj), but something went wrong. Mayhaps, for the best.  
> My collages for this work;  
> Yoongi: https://pp.userapi.com/c638224/v638224081/299d5/4UcyXlcc6B0.jpg  
> Jimin: https://pp.userapi.com/c638224/v638224081/299de/j7BmsCUkpCU.jpg  
> Taehyung: https://pp.userapi.com/c638224/v638224081/29a10/zW0TsdJzrZs.jpg  
> Jungkook: https://pp.userapi.com/c638224/v638224081/29a2b/3SwtcavjDko.jpg ”
> 
> Also once again, your feedback would be greatly appreciated! My Slytherin ass wants some praise pleaseeeeee  
> Hope you're enjoying the story so far uwu


	7. Hard Weekdays;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting regularly :( I had some personal troubles, so didn't really have the time to translate, but I'll try to do better from now on!  
> Please enjoy~

It has been two weeks since he was sorted into Slytherin. Not that long of a time, but Jimin was exhausted to the state he was willing to die. His head was ready to explode any time now, overfilled with all the knowledge he’s been fed. First years didn’t even have that many subjects, and Jimin obviously had to start from the very beginning. Astronomy, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, Flying and Defence Against the Dark Arts. But, despite the small amount of disciplines, the volume of information given in each was just enormous. Jimin suspected it would have been easier for him to study if he knew at least the basics of the world of magic where he suddenly showed up, but even if he knew about the existence of the said world, until recently he mostly considered it rather fictionable.

 

It was hard. Very hard. To start with the fact that, as any other student, deep in his soul, Jimin was not so sure about the usefulness of the subjects. Take Flying for example. Jimin was afraid of flying as a process, the height made him nervous and dizzy, the broom just didn’t want to obey him. Moreover, he didn’t even get used to the magic in him, although it seemed to wake up after he bought the wand; the thought of the broom being able to fly was so unnatural Jimin’s whole being was trying to discredit it right at the start. But discrediting that thought lead to him discrediting his belief in magic itself, and the broom seemed to feel his scepticism and neglect regarding its persona, and acted accordingly, kicking under him like an unstriated young stallion.

 

Next, Astronomy. Do magicians live in Stone Age to stare at the stars for some reason and draw maps and stuff. You could find all of that in any textbook or study guide by now. Jimin was perfectly aware what is Sun, Moon, planets, galaxies, constellations and etc. are, he had no clue why the need to redo something that someone else had already done before, and he couldn’t ask professor this, he was too awkward, embarrassed and shy to do so. Although the young woman who taught the subject probably had noticed Jimin’s attitude by now anyway.

 

The list of useless subjects made by Jimin also included the History of Magic. It may have been useful for purebloods or magicians born in this world, based on the “everyone should know the history of their own country” statement. But Jimin himself didn’t give a single damn when the Goblin Rebellions took place, or why did people negotiate with werewolves in Nth century or which headmaster of Hogwarts was an auror who saved like the whole Earth or something. Yes, there were a few moments he found interesting enough, but the others only caused disgust and thoughts like why the hell does he need to cram all this bullshit? Not even read, understand, master -  _ cram _ , because Jimin was absolutely not into it, but he still had the exams to pass.

 

The other subjects were troublesome, too, to be honest. Herbology didn’t cause many problems in theory, it was fascinating to read about unusual, rare plants and their specifics. It was easy for Jimin to memorize all the information, but when he needed to identify a lungwort or something within five options, everything was just going awry. Because the grass being slightly different was still just the grass.

 

Charms were hard to manage, and that lead to weird mishaps with everything else using wand. Jimin couldn’t even make up with the fact of magic existing yet, it was all hard, stupid, and somewhat childish for him. What magic, what wizarding, what wand? It’s all gibberish. Sometimes he wished for it to be merely a very realistic dream, for him to be comfortably sleeping at the table in the library, drooling onto the pages of an open book. But being it a dream or not, the professors looked at him disapprovingly and reproachfully, making him work at his best.

 

Overall Jimin was not in a position to complain, as he received a lenient attitude and even complete ignoring of his nervous  _ “this is nonsense” _ laughters, as he was a muggleborn coming to Hogwarts in such an old age, when it’s harder to accept what’s happening. Kids tend to get on well with all the fairytale atmosphere, they take everything with not suspicion but interest, their minds are not full of prejudice and a raw  _ “that’s all nothing more than tales” _ . Kids let the magic get through them, wavering them with warm flow, blooming and filling them with power and shining. Jimin, on the other hand, doesn’t want to open up, and he doesn’t want to believe, and that’s where all the troubles come from.

 

Jimin was attending the classes with as a Slytherin freshman, but all the first-years have already learnt everything that he just started getting to, so the professors gave him individual tasks while continuing to talk to everyone else. After a few days Jimin got used to an early waking, taking a shower and going to breakfast, and then obediently walking to class with all the students. He was being laughed at, of course, and Jimin was not surprised that it were his housemates mocking him mostly. Gryffindors were compassionate, Rawenclaws offered help as a “by the way”, Hufflepuffs just stayed out of trouble, not really caring. He felt thankful to the first-years not making fun of him, although they knew perfectly well that they were somehow more superior than sixteen-year-old boy. It was either they were still pure and innocent kids, or that they were really busy studying, not having the time to notice some Park Jimin. Although, there was a cute girl in the first year who was acting weirdly warm towards him and even tried to help him when the professors didn’t notice. It seemed odd at first, then Jimin felt angry, because he can do it himself. And then when he realized he was even more pathetic than the worst of them, he treated the girl with candies in response to her help.

 

There was more trouble other than studying. Slytherin. Serpentarium. Resident Evil. The Depth of Hell. The Dark Dungeons. The Grand torture chamber. Jimin was aware he wasn’t going to be living in Yoongi’s room, even just because it was so small and reserved for vips such as house prefects. He was aware, but he was hoping nonetheless. His hopes weren’t destined to become true, though. He was assigned to live in a bigger boys bedroom, and it was so different from the one in Gryffindor. A large, empty place where six beds with green baldachins were placed, three on each side. Next to each there was a desk and a nightstand. Small lamps hung in the head of the bed, and a soft carpet covered the floor around it. At the far wall there was a huge fireplace, the fire in which never went out. Above it there was the house’s coat of arms, and on the walls occasionally hung the banners. No septums, no private space. Just large columns entwined with stone snakes and portraits on the walls, all inanimate. And depressing artificial windows.

 

Jimin could put up with that, too, you just needed to pull canopy cloth to end up in your own corner, fencing off from the whole world. But the boy wasn’t a fan of spending another minute in that room, he felt pressed and pushed by every item there. And the possibility of being alone in the room or being there tet-a-tet with someone just made it worse. He wasn’t bullied, beaten or tricked magically, but sharp remarks and insulting nicknames poured on his head one after another. And Hoseok was next to him constantly, Jimin even seemed to develop a nervous tic and paranoia because of that. The girls were laughing at him, trying to pick the most sensitive point, the guys were poking fun at him, speaking out ridiculous comments. It were only Namjoon and Yoongi out of all the Slytherins who didn’t mock him. The first one was better than that, and the second one… He wasn’t there at all.

 

Jimin didn’t even think of the fact that Yoongi had to study, too, and even more than others, that he has more requests from all the professors due to his prefect’s duties, and he had to patrol the hallways, as well. Yoongi was free on weekends, granting Jimin his attention, but on weekdays he was impossible to talk to. Min wasn’t even keeping track of his eating schedule or he was eating so fast that Jimin couldn’t say a word before the other disappeared. And it was oppressing and saddening: the study loads, the teachers’ jeers, Yoongi’s absence and the coming realization that the Hat had put him where he himself asked her to. Jimin was only drawing a bright and colourful future for himself at that time, not taking a second thought of how it will turn out in reality. And he should have been, because pretty dreams tend to turn into a cruel reality. It was Jimin who should have realized that long ago.

 

What was he going to do after Yoongi graduate? How was he going to study alone, with no friends to help him? Taehyung didn’t have much time before graduating, too. How can one live in this huge castle knowing you have no place to receive support and help from, no one to go to Hogsmeade together with, to chat before going to bed, to walk near the lake? Studying matters, nut is that all to this life? Why are Jimin’s best years look so dreary, gloomy and filled with nothing but loneliness?

 

These were Jimin’s thoughts while he made his way to the castle’s exit. He has a few more hours before curfew, he could afford a little walk to the lake and back, and then… Jimin had no idea how to entertain himself. Yet another weekend, but there was no sign of Yoongi anywhere, the others planned to have some grand booze, the youngsters were going to Hogsmeade as usual, to feel some freedom for once, and Jimin was probably going to keep himself busy with homework and books, as he was not nearly succeeding in his studies.

 

The stairs led him to the corridor, which, in its turn, led him to the hall. Going down and letting himself drown in his misery, Jimin didn’t watch the sides at all, and so when he lifted his head up and all of a sudden saw Jungkook’s smirking face right in front of him, he pulled back unintentionally.

 

_ “It was just you I needed to complete the happiness bingo,” _ echoed in his head.

 

During all this time Jimin spent in the castle by now, he and Taehyung proceeded with their friendship as usual. They’ve been chatting during lunches and dinners, walking around the castle in the evenings, sometimes Taehyung even dragged them both to the library to help his friend with his homework. Last weekend they even visited Hogsmeade together. Just them two, without Jungkook, whom Taehyng escaped from secretly. They’ve seemed to sort everything out, and Jungkook acted calm now, but Jimin was still a forbidden topic to discuss. Knowing that stubborn shithead was going to try and do something awful to Jimin again, Taehyung didn’t have any other option but to lie and run away. Which, certainly, reflected in Jungkook figuring everything out and holding a deadly grudge.

 

_ “Such a showman,” _ Jimin thought at that time with a weird feeling of adoration, watching Taehyung running around after the younger boy, who was turning around each time but secretly smiling and watching the daffy blond head with care nonetheless.

 

And now the two fires meet up face to face, and Jimin suddenly didn’t want to walk around the desolate street alone anymore. In his imagination he could see Jungkook giggling vilely and locking all the doors somehow after Jimin went out, to live the boy out in the cold street. Meanwhile Jeon came closer, assessing him with a sneering gaze and resembling very much of his elder brother. Memories of Hoseok made Jimin cringe and shrug his shoulders.

 

“Now what do you want from me?” he asked calmly, looking at the younger.

 

And couldn’t help but lift his brows up in surprise when Jungkook confusedly drew his gaze away, losing all his arrogance in a moment. For a few minutes he stayed silent while flushing more and more red. Finally, he got his shit together, frowned and looked back at Jimin harshly.

 

“Just you dare laugh, I’ll hang you at the Great Hall’s entrance for jokes,” he threatened, while continuously crumpling his robes’ sleeves. “I want to make a present for Taehyung. Something that’ll make him happy. Something he’ll definitely like. He’s always over the moon when I make gifts for him, but he’s really lacking some acting skills. I can see clearly when he doesn’t like it and he’s just being polite.”

 

“And you want an advice? Why from me?” Jimin is oblivious, and Jungkook rolls his eyes.

 

“Well you’re his named brother, childhood friend and ever-so-cutie-pie,” the gryffindor mimicked sarcastically. “But you, who else knows everything about his preferences and tastes?”

 

“Considering he recently confessed to me that you guys have feelings for each other, I’m not sure of that anymore,” Jimin stated boldly.

 

Taehyung really did tell him everything, as he didn’t wanna lie and hide the truth, and what about Jimin? So what about him. He was surprised, bewildered, even, but it was, at the end of the day, none of his business. If Taehyung wanted a thrill, let him be. We only live once, after all. But now, Jungkook, with such a request, approaching him. Of course, Park knew what one can possibly do to make his friend happy, but his memory instantly threw at his mind an album called  _ “How Jeon Jungkook Ruined My Life” _ . That little bastard was no better than before, spitting poison to his side all this time. Jimin was ready to tell him to fuck off already at this point, but the boy’s eyes were unusually humorless, and he looked weirdly nervous overall. Jimin noticed gloves on his hands, and realized that gryffindor was just coming back from that weird sports, quidditch, training, as under Jungkook’s cloak he could also see sports uniform. The thought in his mind gathered more certain shape, and…

 

“Alright. I know what Taehyung will like. I even know where to buy that in Hogsmeade, although I’ve only been there once. But instead, you teach me to fly. That wooden stick tries to murder me every practice, I’m already fully covered in bruises. So, trade.”

 

Jungkook looked at him astounded, and then smirked and nodded in agreement.

 

“It looks like your slytherin is finally showing, huh? ‘Kay, I’ll help you with the broom. And you help me with Taehyung. Deal?”

 

“Deal.”

 

A handshake to confirm the bargain, Jungkook walks away, hiding in one of the corridors. Jimin looks a bit confusedly at where he went to, as they didn’t agree neither on the date nor on the time, but it’s Friday eve now, so probably tomorrow at breakfast Jungkook was going to let him know when they can do all that. A loud meowing of the old cat of the caretaker drags him out of his thoughts, and the boy leaves the castle rapidly. That old grunt was like burdock, it would be no please to counter him again.

 

The weather was, as expected, hazy, cool and dim. The soil washed by raines slurps loudly under his boots, splashing mud at his pants and cloak’s fabric. It doesn’t make Jimin regret his decision to take a walk outside. He really needed a breath of fresh air and an endless sky above his head. Long-awaited freedom and weakened vigilance, because it was too unlikely for anyone now to follow him and do any harm. Even in that case, Jimin still has the time before a possible assault to indulge his desire for silence and time alone, to feel lost in the wind that slaps him at his cheeks, trying to bring him back his composure.

 

The way to the lake was not that long, but the weather turned the path into a mess, so it took longer than usual for Jimin to get there. Anyway, soon enough he successfully landed his feet onto the shore, mostly sand and stones, with a few huge rocks lying here and there. It seemed that near the water the air was even cooler, so Jimin wrapped himself in his cloak tight, but it didn’t help much. For a while he just stood there, observing the smooth surface of the lake's water. According to beliefs and the History of Magic book, there are mermaids living there. He examined the dark peaks of trees that were merging into a single black lane further away. The silence broken only by the wind’s whistle and a beautiful landscape were comforting and calming, although it would be even better if not for the cold. Some mere ten or fifteen minutes on the shore, and the boy already hardly feels his own legs. A quiet sneeze and a sniff, a thought how it’s high time he should be heading back or he’s gonna catch a cold, and Jimin is ready to leave when he feels warm. A nice and cozy kind of warm, covering you from head to toes, making his involuntarily squint his eyes in pleasure. It’s like a warm shower, but even better.

 

“You’ll catch a cold if you dress this light. You should have at least taken a scarf and gloves,” a quiet voice teaches him from somewhere close.

 

Jimin turns back right away and looks around. Turns out, all this time he was not alone, but with Namjoon sitting atop one of the rocks accompanying him. His face was half-covered by a soft scarf colored his house’s hues, he was wearing warm robes and gloves with no fingers. In his arms, there was a book, as expected, Namjoon brings it everywhere, and a wand which the boy was playing in his fingers. His hair was messy because of the wind, but Kim didn’t look frozen or even a little bit cold, although he was clearly sitting there already for a while.

 

“Hello to you too, Namjoon-hyung. What are you doing here?” Jimin inquired, getting a closer approach.

 

He rarely had a chance to talk to Namjoon, but when he had, the time flew by with the speed of light. Namjoon knew many stories, he was smart and erudite, very serious and overall, looked older than he was. Although, when he smiled, two adorable dimples were showing themselves to the world on his cheeks, ruining all his severe looks. Jimin always had the urge to poke those dimples, but never had the guts, obviously. He was once ruminating about how there are so many hypocritical people in his house. They seem to show you who they are, but in fact, that’s just a mask, and in reality they’re completely different. Namjoon was one of them.

 

“Studying. Precisely, experimenting with the water-based magic.” Kim replied, looking back in the book.

 

He probably didn’t want to be interrupted, but Jimin got too curious, and so he approached the elder sideways and stopped next to him. The other had no reaction to this, reading further into something and lighting the book with his wand. Its end was sparkling brightly in an upcoming twilight of the evening. Then, the light went off. Namjoon closed the book, leaving his wand between the pages as a bookmark, stood up and walked to the water. Turned around, nodded for Jimin to come along, and squatted at the edge.

 

“Magic, that involves the elements of water and earth, is the most complicated, in my point of view. One thing is to change the consistency of light weighted air or fire, which is basically the same air but flamed. The whole other is to make some solid substance obey you. Every magician has a predisposition to some element. Someone like Hoseok is wind. Empty-headed*, air magician. Yoongi is fire. Seokjin - earth. I’ve only been into this recently, and it turned out my element is water,” Namjoon dragged his hand above the water.

 

Jimin listened carefully, watching the water interestedly. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the liquid gathered a shape of a hill, reached up to find Namjoon’s hand.

 

“Based on this, every magician can expand their magical powers, with the ability to seek for it in the surroundings. Most of the nature elements-based spells are nonverbal, but there are a few requiring a wand. The wand is a conductor, powered by its core, it helps control and direct the magic energy flow. Now look, this is just a nonverbal spell.” Namjoon explained as he lifted his hand further up.

 

The water that was shaping up came off the surface of the lake and floated in the air as a large liquid ball. Jimin watched this miracle wide-eyed, not even daring to blink. It seemed as if he’d broken eye contact it would all disappear. But no. The ball went up, floating above Namjoon’s now turned hand and twinkling marvelously with the waves moving inside of it.

 

“If you know the right spells that can help a wizard get on well with his element, you can not only change the shape of the material, but also its density and texture. You should be extremely attentive and aware of every little change in the nature energy, to give the right response and not to bother the integrity of the flow. The nature doesn’t like being bothered, especially violently.”

 

Park glanced at Namjoon’s concentrated face. The boy had perspiration gleaming on his temples from sheer tension. He drew his gaze back to the water ball. It turned slowly into an oval shape, and then became smaller, and smaller, and smaller. And then Jimin saw, to his surprise, as the water started freezing. At the end, the elder’s hand received a tiny piece of an oval-shaped ice.

 

“That was incredible, just now,” Jimin whispered enthusiastically, looking at the flickering ice. “And that’s really hard, right? You were so focused, you even got sweat on your face. Is it painful - to control the power this way, the magic and all those flows?”

 

“No, that’s not painful, not at all. You just have to pay attention to the details, feel the flows and not trying to build a wall between you and them, as you do that,” Namjoon stated and got up, stretching his limbs. “You’re still rejecting the magic, aren’t you? This is stupid. And, actually, pretty dangerous. It can leave you, forever, or it can destroy you, you’ll just - boom - and explode from inside. Puff!”

 

At that  _ ”puff” _ that echoed above the lake Jimin even jumped on his place, and then glared at the laughing elder in reproach and discontent. However, Namjoon was right, the professors were also telling him all as one, that rejecting the magic was really dangerous. And Jimin, truly, was rejecting it, so he couldn’t even perform simple levitation charms yet.

 

“I just can’t figure how this dumb wand is supposed to work. I’ve only felt it once, when buying it at the shop. And I could hardly realize what feeling that was, Yoongi-hyung was too tired on my nineteenth wand trial, so he just payed for it as soon as possible and dragged me out of there. I left my money for him to take care of it, not to lose it or spend on something” Jimin mumbled an explanation and an excuse.

 

“Well then, let’s try, why the long talk? It slows your studies down,” Namjoon shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the rock. He took his wand out of the book and marked the page he’s been reading. “Get yours.”

 

Jimin hesitantly reached into his inner pocket where his wand was safe. He didn’t like all this just because he was, apparently, going to be humiliated right in front of Namjoon, who is a freaking water element conqueror, almost a god in his eyes and Jimin is actually ready to worship him because he can do those amazing things. And Jimin was sure he’ll be a flop and a disgrace, because even after being taught by Yoongi, who offered help reluctantly and lazily, justifying himself by the fact that it’s a pity to look at the younger’s attempts, he didn’t manage to learn any new skills. Park didn’t even memorise the explanations, as hyung was standing right behind his back, whispering something to his ear about how the wand is the continuation of a magician’s arm, and as he said so, he was leading his hand along his arm, at the end clenching his fingers on top of Jimin’s, who was clutching the wand’s hilt frantically.

 

“The wand is the continuation of magician’s arm,” Namjoon repeated the words Jimin already knew and came closer. You just need to close your eyes and feel it in your hand, feel its hilt, warmed by the heat of your body, imagine its length, draw a picture under your closed lids, as if the wand is just a prolongation of your pointing finger which is lying atop of it.”

 

And so Jimin did. Somehow he just closed his eyes, and imagined, listening to his teacher’s smooth voice and easily drawing the needed picture in his mind.

 

“Alright, good. Now imagine veins in your hand. Imagine it not ending at your wrist, hiding deep under your skin, wrapping around your fingers and palm muscles. Imagine them reaching further as thin threads, wrapping around your wand, as its the continuation of your hand, and it needs the blood veins as well.” Namjoon came a bit closer judging by his voice’s sound. “But instead of blood, these are magic veins. You can imagine it as you want. As golden flow of light, or as the same water, just something liquid, fluid. Imagine this stream rushes around the wand to its top and pausing there, accumulating, condensing. Did you imagine? Now…”

 

After Jimin’s nod, Namjoon approached him, took his hand gently by the wrist and lifted it up a bit.

 

“...Now, emphasising the first syllable, repeat after me. Lumos. Confident, loud and distinct.”

 

“Lumos!”

 

Jimin’s voice shivered at the end a bit, but he didn’t have the chance to think it over, as something caused a bright light at the other side if his closed eyelids, and he opened his eyes wide. Flapping eyelashes in utter bewilderment, the boy looked at the wand he was holding in his hand, at the end of which there was a light flashing, as it was at the top of Namjoon’s wand before when he was reading.

 

“H-hyung, this… What is… Was that me?” Jimin asked with trepidation and excitement in his voice, turning to face Namjoon.

 

The other smiled and nodded, rushing the boy’s hair and stepping aside.

 

“Lumos is the spell to cause the light, making your wand some kind of a candle or a flashlight. You should say this spell out loud, but you don’t need to make a pass with your hands. Just hold the wand, imagine that energy stream and say the spell distinctly. To extinguish the light, there is another spell. Nox.”

 

“Nox” Jimin breathed out sharply, and the light went off.

 

“See, this was pretty easy, right?” Namjoon took his book from the rock and put it into his robes’ pocket. “Let’s go back now, it’s time already.”

 

Jimin just nodded in agreement and followed the elder, shining not less bright than that light he made just now, unable to wipe off that completely idiotic smile from his own face. It just felt so… Jimin couldn’t even find the right words to describe it. It was just that a minute ago he thought he’s not able to do anything like that, that he’ll never be able, that it was all a huge mistake and the Hat merely pitied him, if it’s even capable of feeling pity. But then Namjoon-hyung explained it all, and what once was like a dark forest became as clear as the day.

 

“Hyung, you should be a teacher. You’ve got a really nice voice and it seems that you explain things just as others do, but somehow clearer. You’ve managed to reach out to even the clod I am easily,” Jimin told him quietly as they were walking down the road back to the castle.

 

“You’re not a clod, you’re just insecure. You have to stop being afraid of everything around you. Open up to the world, and the world will open to you,” Namjoon shrugged, “If you don’t have any problems with your memory then you’re going to catch up rather quickly, just need to be painstaking. I could help you out if you want me to. I spend every evening here at the lake, practicing or reading. I like being alone by nature, but I have nothing against your quiet company. I can help or guide you as well. I’m older after all, and supposed to take care of you, right?”

 

“Oh, hyung, I’m just… Thank you,” the younger boy looked at Namjoon gratefully, making him smile, too.

 

“Still can’t figure out how you ended up in Slytherin. Did you talk to the Hat?”

 

“No. Professor said there’ll be a voice talking to me, but it was silence. I was just sitting there thinking how it’s a mistake, but if I had a choice, I’d choose Slytherin. It just all worked out this way, Taehyung is my friend and all this stuff, but I…”

 

“You’ve grown attached to Yoongi,” Namjoon nodded, not pushing the boy to continue and say it out loud. “It shows, you’re following him everywhere. Although, he’s actually treating you quite warm. I don’t remember him smiling like this for at least two years already. And, before you ask - it’s none of my business. If you wanna know the reason, you ask Yoongi himself.”

 

“Okay,” Jimin nodded sadly, as he was just about to ask. “Oh, but why does Yoongi-hyung despises Seokjin-hyung so much? Taehyung told me they were friends before, but now they always throw those scary looks at each other. And that argument before… I really thought they’d get in a fight.”

 

“It’s all about that story, seriously. The reason Yoongi isn’t smiling. They don’t despise each other, though, they just somewhat cooled down after a long quarrel. And in time of skirmishes they hit each other in sore spots only, leading to themselves breaking down. Alright, stop asking me, I won’t talk about it anymore.Tell me how’s it going with Herbology this far? I heard you cant tell the difference between a plantain and a rose.”

 

“Now that’s not true!” Jimin screamed indignated, his cheeks glowing red immediately, and the elder laughed.

 

The following conversation was nice enough to lighten up the mood that had already gone heavy. Talking about the studying, telling his own flaws and first success, listening to Namjoon’s fascinating stories of his own funny incidents happened to Kim, Jimin didn’t notice they’ve reached the castle. And he didn’t notice who was waiting at the entrance at first as well.

 

“And where were the two of you?” Yungi frowned inquiringly, looking at both of them somehow particularly gloomy and hard.

 

“Hyung, hyung, you won’t believe it! Look what Namjoon-hyung taught me!” Jimin fluttered joyfully at once, dragging out his wand and holding it in front of himself. “Lumos!”

 

If the boy was worried at first that it won’t work, he fought those thoughts back as hard as he could, imagining the energy flowing, as Namjoon taught him. And it worked, again, the top of the want illuminated with bright light. Jimin looked at it with a happy smile, turned to Yoongi in a hope to receive a praise, but…

 

“And why the hell were you bothering me, then?” Yoongi asked coldly. “I’ve told you a hundred times over how and what should you do but you couldn’t. And when Namjoon told you - everything cleared up? Why did you ask me to free my evening then, to study, if you yourself are nowhere to be found and I’m the one to search for you although the practicing time was your initiative? You think I don’t have anything better to do?”

 

“Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin gasped in confusion, lowering his wand, not knowing what to say.

 

He didn’t have to say anything, though, as…

 

“Brilliant, you’ve found yourself another teacher and now you’ll stop messing with my schedule,” Yoongi stated before turning around abruptly and walking away.

 

Jimin looked at him wistfully, then at his wand, breathing out a heavy  _ “nox” _ . The light was gone, and Namjoon scoffed loudly behind his back, observing the stooped shoulders, and then the elder came closer and encouragingly patted his back.

 

“iI’mm sure he’s not mad because you’ve been messing up his schedule, but because you’ve spent this time with me. Yoongi is used to you being always around, and now that you were gone somewhere. It isn’t a good thing you forgot your appointment, but I think it’s pure jealousy. I think he’s just nervous and afraid you won’t want to talk to him anymore.”

 

“You bet! Yoongi-hyung is the bestest hyung! How can I not wanna talk to him?” Jimin whirled up and shut his mouth the moment he noticed the other’s sneering gaze watching his cheeks flush red.

 

“You go catch him and tell him this,” Manjoon adviced and went in one of the corridors, waving goodbye.

 

Jimin didn’t think twice before sprinting in direction of the Dungeons, where Yoongi went. He ran there, thinking how the walls must be shaking from his loud steps. Well what should he do is the stoned floor doesn’t allow you to move silently? Although it was for the best as hyung would surely hear him and stop to wait for him.

 

_ “And to scold me for running down the halls breaking rules,” _ Jimin thought with a smile, almost bumping into the wall at the turn.

 

But he wasn’t destined to finish. Someone else’s strong arms gripped his shoulders, throwing him to the wall. Squealing from the pain in his shoulder blades and the hit back of the head, the boy looked up and forgot how to breathe. Hoseok was breathing rather calmly, though, grimacing unkindly and squinting eyes.

 

“You know, Park Jimin, I wouldn’t have thought you’d end up sorted into Slytherin. I wonder how you did that as you’re a pathetic weak stupid piece of shit. But it seems that the stars wanted you here, although I don’t understand this one thing: why the hell are you following Yoongi wherever he goes? You go after him like a girl in love, looking into his mouth, ready to crawl on your knees in front of him smiling with that idiotic smileof yours every time he looks at you,” the Slytherin whispered into his lips, and Jimin felt with fear his neck resting against a rather sharp tip of a magic wand.

 

Hoseok stepped back a bit, taking a look at his victim, and his grin grew wider.

 

“You don’t think he’ll notice someone like you, do you? You don’t even have anything other than that pitiful soul. You have no skills, no knowledge, such a characterless coward. I wanna smash you, I would gladly do so if there was a way to avoid suspicion. But if anything happens, I won’t be able to show these fake tears, whining  _ “oh what an awful thing, Jiminnie was so nice” _ , as everyone already knows who was the biggest fan of mocking you, puppy. But believe me...”

 

Next to the other’s face, Hoseok smiled almost caringly, leading his wand’s tip along Jimin’s cheek now.

 

“...as long as you’re out of your bounds, I’ll find a way to get away with it.”

 

Hope pulled away and looked at the pale as chalk boy, and then walked away, playing with his wand in his fingers and humming some melody to himself. Jimin spent the rest of his strength to stay vertical on his wobbly legs. Hoseok was always scaring him and insulting him, calling him names and all, but  _ this _ was too serious and…

 

“Why are you frozen here like a statue? Scat, to the common room, now,” out of nowhere Yoongi appeared, assessing the boy who was biting his lips nervously. “Hey, what are y—”

 

He didn’t finish his phrase as he was suddenly hugged by Jimin, who practically pranced to him, hiding his nose in the other’s neck and sniffing loudly.

 

“When hyung is whispering into my ear or talks in that hoarse voice, I can’t understand a thing, focusing on intonations,” Jimin mumbled, pulling himself closer. “And hyung is staying too close to me, this confuses me and I can’t concentrate. And the room is too humid, making me think only about the ways to get rid of clothes and drink a glass of water. And I was just out on a walk to the lake, and there was Namjoon-hyung, and he showed me those things, and he offered help, and I agreed, I didn’t know it’ll work. I wanted to make you happy with what I’ve learnt, but Yoongy-hyung got mad at me. I wasn’t going to forget the appointment intentionally, I just didn’t follow the time.”

 

“Okay then, next time you’ll get rid of clothes beforehand,” Yoongi remarked phlegmatically.

 

Jimin jumped aside, rosy cheeks, yelling his  _ “hyung!” _ , making the prefect’s lips form a smile after hearing a  _ “was that all you paid attention to?” _ . No, it wasn’t all, or else Yoongi wasn’t feeling so light weight right now. He approached the younger and hugged him carefully, patting his back and indulging in the other’s heat he cherished so much.

 

“I’m sorry I yelled at you. I was just a tiny bit worried when you didn’t come, because I doubt you got rid of your astounding ability of getting into trouble. Anyways, let’s go. I’ll help you with the spells today, and tomorrow after lunch we can practice transfiguration.”

 

“Okay, hyung.”

 

Jimin nodded joyfully and followed Yoongi. The talk to the elder boy helped him get out of that stressful situation and forget Hoseok’s warning completely. After all, it’s none of his concern to forbid Jimin talking to someone.

 

_ “Especially if hyung likes talking to me,” _ the boy thought later, watching Yoongi eating sweet toffees in bed, while Jimin himself was carefully reading another spell’s explanation.

 

Well, not really carefully… To watch Yoongi stretching like a cat, with his shirt lifted up and baring his milk skinned tummy, was, suddenly, to the rosy cheeks state more interesting than the spell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *In russian there is a saying for the word “empty-headed”: “to have wind in one’s head”. So the author attempts a pun: Hoseok’s element is wind, both in head and in magic.
> 
> As usual, comments would be appreciated uwu!^^


	8. The scarf and the tortoise;

Any weekend’s morning is always incredibly sweet, beautiful, blissful and full of a long-awaited  _ “I don’t have to go anywhere today” _ . Jimin always adored waking up on weekends, when you glance at the time and know you can afford to stay in bed a little more, when you’re not late for anything, there’s no rush, no bustling. During his first weekend after a long studying week Jimin woke up early in the morning to get to breakfast, but Yoongi explained later that there’s no need to do so, as you can eat on the kitchen just fine. So right now, Jimin was comfortably lying on his stomach hugging a pillow and half-asleep thinking about how he doesn’t want to wake up at all, but his body was feeling too awkward wearing all those clothes.

 

The evening before Yoongi was indulging his inner torturer’s dreams, apparently, making Jimin repeat more and more of new spells, making weird passes with his wand one after another, focusing on the magic itself and remembering all the counterspells at the same time. Most of the time the spells were coming in pairs as  _ “to apply/to undo” _ , and it was crucial to know all of them. Plus, sometimes even the gestures for those paired spells were different, so by the end of their practice session Jimin’s head was aching deadly, not being able to process such an enormous amount of information.

 

“You’ve nailed Lumos and Nox in mere seconds. And you don’t actually have those spells in your study program. Don’t forget that it’s certainly good to know useful spells, but beforehand you need to learn what the professor asked you to. Get over with it step by step, don’t rush and don’t run in front of the broom. It’s all gonna come with time, you won’t even notice how you’re acting automatically without thinking twice,” Yoongi lectured Jimin when the boy complained about being tired, started whining and playing the pity angle.

 

Jimin would have rebelled at this for sure, as Yoongi was lying on the bed busy eating candies, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. The candies were just an application to the two thick potions encyclopedies, a few opened notebooks with accurate pencil drawings of the plants, leaves and roots, and a seven year potions studybook. How did Yoongi manage to do his own work and at the same time take an eye on Jimin, correct him and direct, Park didn’t know and didn’t want to know, therefore trying to work even harder not to disappoint hyung. And also he’d really need all this. But, first and foremost, he wanted to receive praise from Yoongi.

 

The practice was long, and Jimin didn’t have the guts to stop until Yoongi tells him so, when truthfully Yoongi was just gone completely trying to make sense of the tricks of the potion he chose for his finals, so he wasn’t really paying attention to the time. He was dragged back into reality when Jimin dropped his wand out of his shaking hand, when his fingers suddenly stopped doing what he wanted them to do. The clock was showing half past ten in the evening by then, and Min immediately dragged his nonresistant housemate to the bathroom to put his hand under a stream of cool water, rubbing his palm and fingers.

 

“Magic is actually considered as something ephemeral, aerial and not having much physical impact, but if you overwork, your hand starts going numb and your muscles hurt like after a workout. So please don’t overdo it, or it’ll be hard to control the flow afterwards,” Yoongi explained, assessing the brown-haired, who was a bit embarrassed by the other’s care.

 

After that, Yoongi returned to his books, letting Jimin sit next to him and have some rest. At first Jimin was examining the nicely colored baldachin and the room itself, although he knew almost everything about it already, and then he looked at Yoongi. The boy was biting his lips and frowning, reading further into the book. This Yoongi looked especially… Cool? Dope? Beautiful? Jimin couldn’t find the right word. Min just looked absolutely awesome, while reading something so focused, making notes and moving his lips slightly, inaudibly repeating the herbs’ names and other ingredients.

 

This was the last thing Jimin remembered before accidentally falling asleep. And now he woke up and found out, with pleasure, he’s in Yoongi’s cozy bedroom, and not in the dark Slytherin boys bedroom. Waking up in prefect’s bed was nice not only because the bed was wider or more comfortable than the one Jimin was sleeping at these days, but also because there was Yoongi’s sleepy face in half a meter from him. The boy was, unlike his “guest”, wearing warm pajamas and covered with a blanket, while Jimin was sleeping in his clothes just like that. He wasn’t cold, though, as the fire was lit in the fireplace the whole night, not going down even a bit by the morning. But the reason of his rosy cheeks was certainly not the hot stuffiness in the room.

 

_ “His lips seem to get even prettier,” _ Jimin thought, feeling weirdly nervous deep inside.

 

It could hardly be true, of course, lips being just lips. But right now, at this very moment, Jimin felt again that same urge to touch them at list with the tip of his finger. the boy turned to his side and shuffled closer, watching the other’s relaxed face, and froze hesitating.

 

“Yoongi-hyung, are you asleep?” he called quietly, waiting for a reaction.

 

But there were no twitching of eyelashes, no change in his breathing or a loud sigh, nothing. Jimin waited a few minutes just to be sure, and then carefully moved his hand to the other’s face. He had to use his left hand, it would be awkward to use his right, but jimin wasn’t a southpaw, and he bit his lips nervously when he felt his fingers shaking. It was weird to try and touch it with his left hand, it seemed that it would even feel different, nut he had no choice at this point. The boy even stopped breathing to calm down the nervousness and the shaking.

 

_ “Come on, just a bit further,” _ his inner voice whispered supportively.

 

And yes, it was just a bit further, and then Jimin finally pressed the tip of his pointer finger to the other’s lower lip, carefully touching the soft center. It was… Nice. Soft warm skin moving slightly under the press of the finger. Jimin, as if bewitched, presses a few times cautiously onto the lip, feeling resilience and watching the funny cat-like lip corners. It’s probably really weird to be melting at the sight of someone’s lips, but Yoongi’s were so pretty and clear-cut, a light tone of red, with a few carves, they looked like a fine work of art. As if Yoongi was a porcelain doll, to whose lips the master paid special attention and time, scrupulously carving every line and wrinkle. Such cute, delicate lips, owned by not a pretty girl, but by a rude and sarcastic guy.

 

_ “If I had found a girl with such lips, I would ask her out on a date surely,” _ Jimin sighed heavily, taking a last look at the other’s lips and lifting up his eyes.

 

This wonderful Saturday morning, when the idiot’s dream came true, Jimin also had fully comprehended the meaning of the phrase  _ “the blood run cold” _ . And he also understood how his heart is able to skip a beat. And what the person feels when his feet grow cold. Because Min Yoongi was looking at him with his sleepy eyes. And it was not stated for how long has he been awake. And if he had seen Jimin’s fanatic gaze. Park was so frightened he couldn’t move his hand away. Meanwhile Yoongi blinked a few times, looking at him more consciously now, and then grabbed Jimin by the wrist and pulled aside.

 

_ “He’s going to cut my hand with some nonverbal spell now,” _ Jimin thought cheerlessly.

 

But no, once again Yoongi acted not as how he was expected to act. He pulled Jimin’s hand closer to his face and pressed the warm palm to his cheek, rubbing his skin slightly at it and closing his eyes.

 

“Warm,” Min breathed out hoarsely, turning his head a bit and pressing his lips to the wrist at the pasm’s side.

 

If at first Jimin might think his wrist was going to be bitten off instead of cut off, then there was a loud silence in the boy’s head now. Jimin watched Yoongi wide-eyed in disbelief, while the other rubbed at his palm like a kitten, pressing his lips to the skin occasionally, leaving weightless kisses. And that last fact the loud silence exploded in his head, and color rushed to his cheeks. Yoongi’s lips are touching Jimin. Yoongi’s lips. Are touching. Connection error.

 

“I love fire, you know?” Min continued, looking up at the younger, who was all red and biting his lips. “The fire is beautiful and charming, and unpredictable and easy-going. It gives us heat, wrapping us in warm air, but you can’t touch it, and it’s sad. You can’t just pull your hand into flames to feel them. You remind me of fire, Jimin. You gift me your warmth, but I can’t ever have anything other than that.”

 

Jimin has tons of questions and a faded voice refusing to work. Yoongi is now literally, really kissing his wrist, where his vein is pulsing like crazy under the skin, he’s watching it closely, and then gets up and goes to the bathroom. Jimin is shocked, Jimin is in dismay, and his heart is beating so loudly somewhere in his ears, it almost hurts. Not knowing what to do now, how to react, Jimin rushes out of the bed and out of the room. He can’t imagine looking hyung in the eyes now, because… He just doesn’t, that’s all.

 

Not wishing to run into Yoongi anytime soon, Jimin breaks into their bedroom, grabs his spare clothes and runs to the shower. No one’s there so he can take his time and do some weird things such as slapping his own cheeks and whining inaudibly. Jimin is absolutely embarrassed by what happened, and he has no idea how to respond. He shouldn’t wind up probably, Min Yoongi was no easy to read book. That thing he said, about Jimin and fire, pretty words expressing sympathy to the other, kisses - it could all be interpreted differently. Mayhaps the Slytherin just amuses himself this way.

 

_ “It’s not a problem in our world.” _

 

_ “It’s because I am gay.” _

 

_ “I won’t try to get your innocence.” _

 

_ “I love fire.” _

 

_ “You remind me of fire, Jimin.” _

 

A loud whine and another one of  _ “what the hell is that supposed to mean?” _ muttered in a cranky voice. Jimin squinted his eyes and lifted his head, putting his face under the hot water. He just needed to cool down a bit, and think everything over, make it all make sense. No overthinking, though, He could always just talk it over with Yoongi, later. After all, they still got practice planned. Hence, Jimin decided to not take it too close, got out of the shower, getting dressed and tidying himself up, and walked to breakfast, that hasn’t come to an end yet.

 

However, he was unceremoniously intercepted half-way. Jimin didn’t expect to run into Jungkook so soon, but the boy was already dressed and met him with an irritated  _ “where are you wondering, we’ve got no time” _ . Jimin didn’t quite catch an understanding of this all, when he was already being dragged out of the castle. At least good for him to put on his cloak beforehand, although it wasn’t warming a single degree.

 

“I actually didn’t even eat yet. And didn’t wear anything for a walk, as you can see,” Jimin muttered while they were going down a stoned staircase.

 

“You could eat in Hogsmeade. We ain’t got no time, I had to take extreme measures and hand TaeTae to Seokjin-hyung by telling the latter how many debts Tae-hyung already has. Jin-hyung was actually pretty mad and he said he won’t let hyung out until he finishes absolutely all his homework. But hyung is dodgy, so it’s still no time,” Jungkook replied, taking his wand out and putting warm charms on himself.

 

Jimin just sighed jealously, watching the Gryffindor make a short pass and stopping shivering from the wind immediately. Jungkook turned to the sound and smirked, playing his wand.

 

“Let’s see, can’t do warming charms? Then freeze. Although, you could ask me to help you, and I might consider your request.” the boy stared at him mockingly.

 

“I saw you kissing some Hufflepuff girl,” Jimin said, staring back at the younger’s round eyes.

 

“What?! I didn’t! Kiss no girl!” he waved his arms, taken aback.

 

“I know. But Taehyung will believe me. Because you are nasty and obnoxious, and I’m his favourite cutie pie who has no intend to lie to his best friend.” Jimin shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head. “So?”

 

“Foverus,” Jeon hissed, pointing his wand at Jimin, drawing a small spiral and mumbling something like  _ “got into Slytherin for a reason after all” _ .

 

The boy felt the familiar heat, just as last time when Namjoon kindly put warming charms onto him next to the lake. He smiled satisfied at the instance, when Jungkook went further rapidly, mumbling swearings and cursing one presumptuous upstart. Jimin wouldn’t interrupt someone else’s relationships with a lie, of course, as it’s unethical, but Jungkook seemed to believe him to be able to do so, so Park has a perfect key to put pressure on that bully nose of his. This nice present of life made him smile wider than ever, and Jimin enthusiastically followed Jungkook, who was already a bit further away.

 

There was a crowd of students in Hogsmeade, as expected, rushing from one shop to another, warming cold hands with cups of hot chocolate or cacao. Some were eating sweets, some were dragging heavy bags of books or other things they bought, some were merely walking with friends, laughing loudly. Jimin would honestly like to do so, too. To hold hands or to walk shoulder to shoulder, to eat sweets from the same bag and talk about all the things and laugh. Jimin wished not to be alone, same as happy students walking around.

 

“So, when are we going to buy that magnificent present of yours?” Jungkook pulled his sleeve, disliking being watched.

 

Jimin didn’t get it at first, and when he did, he sighed heavily. Of course, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin together, what an amusing gossip topic. As if you don’t have anything more fascinating to talk about. Jimin detested this kind of attention as well, so he grabbed Jungkook’s wrist and dragged him along to the needed shop, noticing its signboard from afar. Jeon was trying to get out at first, hissing and hitting his hand, but soon giving up and promising to give Jimin a hard time later. But Jimin wasn’t listening to the boy, walking into the store and dragging the younger inside, letting go of his hand finally.

 

“Hello,” Jimin smiled his bestest smile at the old man behind the counter. “Excuse me, I’ve seen tortoises here last time, are they still here?”

 

“Sure they are. Where would they go.” the owner nodded and signed for them to follow him.

 

Jungkook came along and soon was watching with a badly covered adoration the tortoises swimming in an aquarium. They were tiny, sized half a palm, and they were changing their colors as the sign standing nearby stated. Jimin watched the cute creatures as well, thinking how they were possibly magical as well, and then he looked at Jungkook.

 

“Taehyung loves animals, and last summer he got on my nerves with his excited  _ “tortoises are so cute” _ like all the time. So you buy him a tortoise and also ear plugs for yourself, cus he’s gonna scream in rapture.”

 

“But only an owl, a cat or a toad is allowed at Hogwarts. Even if I do buy a tortoise for hyung, he would have to give it to the pet’s corner, and Tae-hyung doesn’t have much time to visit there every day. He would only be sighing as he does and whine about how his tortoise is bored and lonely without him.”

 

Jimin listened to Jungkook carefully and looked at the little adorable tortoise with a violet shell. Yes, truthfully, Taehyung would act exactly like that. And what kind of a present that would be if the receiver is going to be nothing but sad?”

 

“You do have a plan B, don’t you?”

 

Jungkook looked at him in hope, and Jimin even felt guilty for thinking badly of the younger. Yes he does behave mischievously, but it was obvious that he’ll do anything for Taehyung, even though he’s still wet behind the ears. Park actually had no idea of what else could make Taehyung happy. The boy was crazy, and he adored some odd things. And it had to be a special present, Jungkook clarified it from the beginning. Candies, and any food, honestly, is a useless gift, you eat it you forget it. Things, clothes or jewelery is a matter of taste, and they don’t have much money. Jimin didn’t take any money at all, actually, he didn’t even dress properly before being dragged far far away.

 

“If you need a cat, I have a kitten,” the owner spoke quietly, interrupting Jimin’s thoughts. “It’s a mixture of a cat and a kneazle, he’s little but smart and fluffy. If that person to whom you’re making a present isn’t allergic to fur, why not gift him a kitten?”

 

The man hid briefly behind the door, and then returned with a basket, in which a tiny motley kitten slept, wrapped in a soft scarf. Black spots, red and yellow somewhere in his fur.  Cute little ears and pink paws, a tail pressed to his side, and Jimin couldn’t help petting him carefully at the head, hearing a soft murmur.

 

“You look like you’re going to wheeze of adoration right this moment. Disgusting,” Jungkook said, looking at Jimin and at the colorful fur ball. “We won’t be able to buy him anyway, it’s too expensive, I’ve already bought a new quidditch broom recently, mom didn’t send me any more money yet.”

 

“I can give you some,” Jimin said and confusedly looked down then. “But I left my money in the castle. Aish, why couldn’t you let me take my time and get ready?  _ “No time, we need to hurry,” _ ” Park mimicked the younger.

 

“I didn’t think it’d turn out this way,” Jungkook scoffed in reply, although he did realize it was his mistake after all.

 

“You could pay half a price now and pay back the rest next time,” the old man suggested with a smile. “This kitten is the last one,  and I can see you need a present urgently. Just make sure you take a good care of him, pets love care, they are affectionate and obedient then.”

 

Jimin thanked the seller right away and promised he will bring the money today if it’s so, or it would be awkward. Jungkook was pouring all the golden coins he had at the counter meanwhile. It turned out he didn’t have just a little bit to pay the whole sum, so Jimin promised he’ll pay the rest and Jungkook won’t be indebted.

 

“Just don’t you forget to help me out with flying,” Jimin reminded him as they were coming back.

 

“I won’t, I won’t,” Jungkook muttered, holding the basket with the kitten in it covered with the scarf, looking at his sleepy head.

 

The way back was mostly silent. Jungkook didn’t intend to speak first, but he was glancing at Jimin from time to time, while the other was only thinking of how his stomach is about to digest itself. So, when they’ve reached the castle, Park quickly said all the goodbyes and headed into the Dungeons to get warmer clothes and money. He promised to pay back the rest of the sum this day, so he has to live up to his promise. He also wanted to sit at the cafe for a while, enjoying a delicious berry pie anyway, and to buy more sweets as there were only a few left. The first things on his to-do list for today didn’t seem hard at all. Jimin easily put on his pullover and a jacket instead of a cloak, wrapped himself in a scarf and grabbed his wand, because you had to take it everywhere with you, as everyone told him to. He rummaged into his bag trying to find his wallet, and realized that since the last time he left his money for Yoongi to take care.

 

_ “So this is what the stars want,” _ Jimin repeated a somewhat popular in this castle phrase, getting upstairs to the painting of a large serpent.

 

The creature hissed as soon as it noticed the boy approaching, lifting up its head above the rings its curled into. Jimin got used to moving paintings and other images pretty quick, imagining simple TV screens in their places. As if the video got stuck, that’s all. It was easy-peasy, but now when he started making up with the thought that he’s a wizard, the animated pictures drew much more of his interest, making him get deep in his thoughts guessing in which ways the painters gave life to their art pieces and why was the woman from one painting able to freely walk into the other ones.

 

“Are you coming or leaving?”

 

The voice behind his back made Jimin turn abruptly and look at Yoongi in utter confusion. The boy walked by unbothered and whispered something to the painting making it slide aside. And then slide back immediately. Demonstrating natural speed and grace, Jimin rushed in after the owner of the room. He only made it without stumbling because instead of long robes he was wearing his favorite puffer jacket.

 

“I thought you won’t come today,” Yoongi said in his usual voice, putting the books he was carrying to the desk. “Ran away this morning so fast, forgot your books and didn’t even say bye. Why these clothes? Were you outside?”

 

At the mention of this morning Jimin blushed again, looked away and shifted on his legs in bit of confusion. Remembering he’s supposed to reply, and that it’s actually around lunch time, right when they were going to practice transfiguration, Park lifted his head up and looked at Yoongi with guilt in his eyes.

 

“Hyung, I just… I remembered suddenly that I promised to help Jungkook with a present for Taehyung, that’s why I left. We bought him a kitten, he’s actually pretty unusual if I understood correctly and he costs a lot. We didn’t pay all the sum yet, Jungkook doesn’t have any money left and I left mine at your place last time. The shop owner allowed us to pay the rest later, but I wanna do that today anyway.”

 

Jimin wouldn’t lie if it wasn’t for Yoongi, who was as confused and worked up as he himself, and therefore wasn’t even glaring at him with that  _ “I see right through you” _ look. Jimin was this far used to feeling awkward, but making Yoongi feel awkward was something definitely unwanted, although it was Min’s fault with his confession and kiss and everything. But after the brownhaired’s tiny lie Yoongi seemed to be less tense and started rummaging through the desk drawer, getting the wallet and handing it to Jimin.

 

“Here.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The wallet moved to the jacket’s pocket, and Jimin turned to leave. After all, he still felt uneasy next to hyung. He’s made a few steps to the exit already when he noticed in the decor mirror on top of the fireplace Yoongi’s reflection. The older boy looked lost, he was biting his lip and looking at Jimin’s back weirdly wistfully. Jimin didn’t see this side of Yoongi before, and the boy remembered how it was Min who offered to practice transfiguration the other day, Jimin wasn’t complaining or asking for help, even though he did had troubles with the subject.

 

_ “He just wanted to spend time together,” _ the words rushed through his head, and Jimin turned back instantly.

 

He never doubted Yoongi’s ability to change his masks at the speed of light, but still was taken aback by seeing the usual cold aloofness and a raised brow speaking  _ “what now?” _ .

 

“Hyung, come with me? Walk around, go to the cafe and buy candies together, I know you like sweets, too. I’ll bring money to the shop owner. And you’ve mentioned some order you’ve been waiting to come to the bookstore since a century ago. Go check it as well. And we could just walk around the castle, go to the lake or something. And you could tell me something fascinating meanwhile,” Jimin suggested, turning on his charming side to the maximum.

 

He really liked his own plan. He could walk alone whenever else, but it was almost impossible to catch Yoongi out of his routine. And even if it was still kind of awkward after this morning’s event, it was totally not the reason to lose the precious minutes of the other’s attention, especially when there was a hard work week awaiting for them, during which Jimin would be left with just memories of the other’s not evil whatsoever smirks and that intense gaze of those gorgeous dark eyes. That being said, Jimin immediately stopped overthinking and just smiled at Yoongi warmly. The boy looked kind of incredulous, but after the younger smiled, he began to grumble something about  _ “just a waste of time, it would be better to study” _ , but began to dress immediately nevertheless. Jimin turned away at this point, as Yoongi started unbuttoning his belt. A loud zip screwed through his ears and brain either way making him turn red. A few minutes of the other’s swarming, and a hand fell on his shoulder.

 

“I’m ready, let’s go.”

 

Black jeans, cream soft sweater and a warm high collar coat. Casual look to Jimin’s eye, in the usual world each second person goes out wearing such clothes, but when Yoongi was wearing it, it looked somehow especially amazing. Min looked a bit older, more solid, so serious and handsome overall. Jimin looked like a toddler next to him in that bright puffer jacket of his and light jeans. It didn’t confuse him at all, though, because in Yoongi’s eyes he looked good. Otherwise, why would he smile this way? Genuine smile, which, according to Namjoon, has not been seen by others for an eternity now.

 

They’ve reached Hogsmeade rather fast, as Yoongi knew another way to get there. Even if it was going through the woods, but it was shorter and not that muddy. Cold, solid, frozen in winter soil was more resembling a stone, and the smell of melting snow and something sweet reminded of the upcoming spring. They’ve made their way in silence, as Yoongi was not the first to speak up, and Jimin was deep in his thoughts and worries: at the castle’s entrance they ran into Hoseok. He was together with some Slytherin girl, and they looked like a couple, but Hope’s dark eyes made it crystal clear for Jimin that the threat was not a joke.

 

“What you’re thinking ‘bout?” Yoongi asked quietly, finally paying Jimin some attention.

 

Jimin would love to say the truth, but what good would it do? Yoongi was not his guardian, and Hoseok wouldn’t really do something out of bounds anyway. They would fight or he would hang him in the air again, but he can live through this. Jimin’s not a whiny girl, he can stand up for himself.

 

“Classes, what else. Hyung, tell me, why would you want to turn one item into another? What possible good can it do?” Jimin decided to distract himself from his unhappy thoughts and looked up at the guy next to him.

 

“It depends on the situation and the item, really. There are some commonplace causes, like when the dame’s being presented with flowers, and she has nowhere to put them into, no vase. A handkerchief, an earring, even a road stone - you could turn any of these items into a vase to put the bouquet into. Or, say, you went to collect the herbs and saw all of a sudden a spring beginning to break out of the ground. Not a rare event, but the human rarely witnesses it, and the first spring water is very valuable and is used in some potions. But you’ve only taken a busket and a knife for the herbs with you. What to do then? Just turn that said knife into a vial or any other container into which you can collect water in time.”

 

Nodding to every word, Jimin assessed the path going further, trying to remember what had professor said and what was written in the textbook about the occasions when you can’t use such a replacement.

 

“Oh, then why the need to spend money on different expensive goblets and cups? Professor explained this to the others, and I caught some words about that when you need to crush something and cut the ingredients for the potion, then you need to use only the originals. If the recipe instructs you to use a copper cup to grind something, then you can only do that using a copper cup. A stone turned into a copper cup won’t do it. Why so?”

 

“Because you should have read the introduction of a textbook more attentively,” Yoongi smirked, looking at the younger’s interested face. “The transformation of one item into another is something like a material illusion. The main features of the item stay the same. A stone remains a stone with all its properties, even if you turn it into a crystal vase. There’s a reason it’s always mentioned which kind of a pot or a knife you should use while making a potion, which pestle and mortar and etc. Let's say, you need to crush the stem of a plant to a state of liquid gruel for a potion. And it’s mentioned to use a wooden pestle and a wooden mortar to do so. You crush it as instructed, put it into your potion, it turns red as it should be. But then, let’s say, you don’t have those wooden ones, so you take a stone and turn it into wood. Repeat. The potion turns violet, yellow, green or even becomes some weird black slop. All because the plant you crushed feeds properties of the wood from that mortar, mixes with it. And if you’re using stone, then, whatever it looked like, the plant won’t mix with a stone. You get it?”

 

“Not really, to be honest,” Jimin confessed, and Yoongi stopped.

 

Squatting, Min examined the thickets of bushes in front of him, and then with a squeamish expression on his face he put his hand into the softened earth, delving into it. Within a couple of seconds, the boy got to his feet, holding out his open hand to Jimin, who immediately recoiled, twisting in disgust. A strange beetle, or a cockroach, vilely moving its paws, layed on the muddy palm.

 

“That’s a dirtbug, there are tons of them in this forest. Some animals eat them, and its horns are used in some of the potions,” Min explained and took out his wand, pointing it at the beetle. “This spell is mostly used for small animals, actually, but it fits for these creatures as well. Vera Verto.”

 

Jimin watched half curiously half disgusted, as the tip of the wand touches the moving beetle a few times and after a distinct  _ “Vera Verto” _ it turns into a nice transparent goblet. One more short spell, sounded as  _ “aguamenti” _ , if Jimin heard it right, and the goblet is filled with water. Yoongi examined his work, nodded to himself and handed the goblet to Jimin.

 

“Ready. Drink.”

 

“What?” Jimin looked at the goblet and then at Yoongi, who lifted one brow, startled. “Hyung, what are you saying? It’s a bug!”

 

“It’s not a bug, it’s a goblet of water, that I crafted specially for you. Drink.”

 

“Hyung, please don’t make me, please. Ew, it’s a dirty bug with ugly legs, I know, I saw him!”

 

A second, and the water disappears, and the goblet turns back into a bug. Throwing it back to the mud, Yoongi cleared his hand with another spell and looked at still pale-green cringing Jimin with a smile.

 

“See. That’s the difference. A copper cup and a stone cup. A crystal goblet and a goblet made of a dirty beetle. You didn’t drink that water, because you knew it was a bug, not a goblet. The plant absorbed the magic and properties of the stone, because in some way it also “understood” that this wood was not really any. Therefore, it is important to know and understand when to use a replacement, and when not.

 

“You’d make a horrible teacher with such explaining methods,” Jimin mumbled and went forward.

 

Yoongi didn’t have any choice but to follow. Horrible or not, but Jimin learned and clearly understood the difference.

 

***

 

To say that Taehyung suffered would be to stay silent. That word can’t reflect even a hundredth of all the feelings the boy is experiencing sitting at the large library desk, surrounded by books and scrolls. It’s not that Taehyung didn’t like studying, he was just a tiny bit lazy, and during weekends prefered to catch up on his lost sleep and spend the time with Jungkook or, if he’s lucky enough, with Jimin, too. They couldn’t see each other much, and that was dissatisfying, as the blond was really worried about his shy and naive cutie pie. Taehyung was convinced that that ugly green house can decay his pretty Jimin, and he wished to take his friend away wherever as far from the serpentarium as possible, but it wasn’t that easy.

 

“Stop daydreaming and finish this damn essay already.”

 

His sufferings reached a new level when Seokjin’s harsh voice dragged him out of his sweet dreams of escape and fresh air. The guy was sitting in front of him busy with his own work, meanwhile chatting with Namjoon, who was searching for some kind of information in a giant enchiridion book right next to him, and was also keeping an eye on Taehyung, whom he seated on the opposite place for this purpose only.

 

“Hyung, why do I have to spend my precious weekend on rotting behind the books? I’ll die young if I keep this up,” the Gryffindor whined, falling at the table.

 

“‘Cause you have three Transfiguration debts, two unfinished essays for Potions, failed History of Magic exam and a Herbology project which you haven’t even started yet,” Seokjin gave one of his laziest students a heavy glare. “Hence, you won’t leave this room until you do at least half of all that.”

 

“I won’t leave this room either way because five more minutes and I die of boredom and the downers’ concentration per square meter,” Taehyung mumbled, looking at the Ravenclaws gathered at the next table.

 

“The faster you do it the earlier you leave. Motivate yourself. The rest you’ve got is that essay and a few chapters of the History of Magic to reach that “half”. It’s gonna be the same test, but when choosing the right answers you’d have to also explain why you choose it. Nothing difficult in particular,” Namjoon added with a soft smile on his lips.

 

“It’s easy to say, hyung, especially for you. You’re able to memorize everything the first time you hear it. Should I drink a memory potion or something…”

 

“To drink whatever potion you should firstly make it. With your knowledge you can only make a poison and kill yourself with it accidentally. So, stop whining and start working.”

 

So Taehyung did, with a heavy sigh. After all Seokjin made it crystal clear for him that until the work is done he won’t get out of there. It wasn’t that hard, in fact, but he was really lazy, and the voice inside kept yelling irritatingly,  _ “why the hell, this is my day off!” _ .

 

There has been times it was awfully hard to study for Taehyung. Came to a whole other world, the little boy he was back then was merely curious about simple things - he wanted to touch, to smell, to taste and to examine the whole castle top to bottom. Taehyung didn’t give one thought about studying, dreaming to count the exact amount of paintings or windows or corridors. But the cruel reality with the face of first rebuke from the prefect dragged him out of daydreaming rapidly, because  _ “Kim Taehyung isn’t learning a single thing, influence him, dear Gryffindor prefect” _ . Penalties and punishments, almost threats and  _ “we’ll write to your mother” _ . Taehyung loved his mom and didn’t want to worry her, especially when she already cried her eyes out not wanting to let her precious angel go to school of magic and something, although she hadn’t really had a choice.

 

Second year, Taehyung had giant troubles as well due to the same reasons, but when he met Jungkook during his third year, everything changed. The boy considered Taehyung the smartest in the whole school, even smarter than teachers, often asked for an advice and for help. And Taehyung couldn’t. Because in his first two years he lived along with  _ “cram, pass, forget” _ . However, you can not live this way for long, as all the subjects are connected, interfering with each other and bounded by the same solid thread of magic.

Thanks to Jungkook, Taehyung has finally gotten his act together. With Jungkook, he read first year’s books, reviving the memories and knowledge, helped the boy with difficult tasks and went through tricky moments. At the same time, Taehyung had no choice but to take his own studies seriously as Jungkook was going to get to that with every next year and ask for help again. And he had to admit, it felt nice when the boy took one of his books and wondered about the meaning of some new spell or the properties of another plant. Taehyung indulged his curiosity, told him everything he knew and was overjoyed seeing the glowing eyes and hearing an ecstatic  _ “TaeTae-hyung is so smart!” _ in reply.

 

_ “Motivate myself… Finish this damn essay and go out with Jungkook asap,” _ the thought itself cheered the blond headed boy up and made him start writing quickly.

 

Working, he didn’t notice how the time passed. It seemed that just now there was a huge pile of tasks to do, but in a minute here there is only Transfiguration that’s left. Taehyung stretched his back with a loud cracking sound and began throwing all his stuff in the bag, ignoring Seokjin’s weak attempts to make him  _ “finish everything at once, there’s barely anything to do now” _ . Jokes on him, Taehyung has already spent too much time in this book prison. He wants to eat and to loiter in his bed consuming sweets at a spectacular speed. And for Jungkook to be there, too, telling him something fascinating, or just complaining about the professors and housemates, pouting his pretty lips and subtly asking to be patted on his head.

 

“I’ll finish later, hyung,” Taehyung shouted, already running out of the kingdom of silence called library.

 

With no intention to stop he dashed through the patio, almost knocked over some girl with the books in her hands, didn’t even offer to help her out, although it would be the polite thing to do. Well, next time she’ll think beforehand whether she should really carry out such heavy things herself. The blond passed the corridor and jumped dauntlessly across the empty space between the floor and the staircase, which had driven almost a meter away already to the next block. It was actually deadly dangerous as he might have ended up falling horribly, and a few portraits and a seventh-year Hufflepuff called out to him in terror. Taehyung acknowledges the fact that the Hufflepuff will probably tell about the crazy idiot to Seokjin, so it would be better to stay away from the Prefect till the end of the day. Or, rather, the end of the next day, or Merlin knows he’d be forced to study again.

 

_ “How did he even find out I had debts? I butter up every prof to make them let me try again and for them not to tell on me to that tyran but he still knew.” _

 

He cringed unwillingly, hopped through the empty space again and dashed through the corridor to the portrait, which has been the entrance to the common room, shouting the password from afar. The lady on the painting looked up from the book and jumped off the chair in panic at the sight of a red-faced Gryffindor running at her at the speed of light. The portrait moved just two seconds before Taehyung slipped inside, not losing any speed whatsoever. And he could have had a huge bump on his forehead from running into the picture. But who cares, when here’s the long awaited stairs, a few cases and…

 

“Kookie! Hyung had escaped the evil dragon at last!” Taehyung sang as he barged in.

 

And froze on the place. Jungkook was, apparently, sleeping peacefully before his arrival, as he now jumped like crazy, turning his head and frantically looking around with sleepy eyes. Shaggy, with a pillow trace on his cheek, so charming in his disorientation. With no will to endure this, Taehyung got out of his shoes and hopped into the bed, crawling closer to the boy and hugging him tightly. Jungkook, getting back to senses after a not-so-pleasant waking, hugged his favourite hyung back and repeated a million  _ “sorry, hyung” _ in his head, knowing perfectly well how meticulous Seokjin can be sometimes.

 

“Hyung, I’ve got a present for you. On your bed,” Jeon smiled when the blond finally let him go.

 

Taehyung’s eyes sparkled, and he rushed to his bed instantly.

 

“Kookie? This is a kitten, isn’t it?” he whispered excitedly, looking at the little amber button-like eyes.

 

“Crossbreed of a cat and a kneazle.” it’s a magical animal much like cat. And even if this kitten is merely a halfblood, it is still considered a magical creature. He will always be next to you, feeling your mood and trying to make it better, fawning around at any time. Also, if you ever get lost, this cat will find you and help you find your way back home. Also kneazles can feel lie, and halfbloods can, too. If anyone tries to lie to you he’ll hiss and heal, and might scratch or bite. He’s only a baby, but if you keep him until he grows up he’ll stay loyal to you forever.”

 

“Jungkookie… Please, come here…”

 

_ “I’ll kill you, Jimin!” _ dazzled through the younger’s head.

 

Because Taehyung got all stiff, he couldn’t see the boy’s face as he was staying with his back turned, but the unnaturally straight spine and immediately straightened shoulders got him pretty nervous. And the tone was shady, and so Jungkook approached with a thought that Taehyung did not like his present at all. However, he didn’t expect to be pushed onto the bed and pressed from atop, at all, too.

 

“My Jungkookie is the best.”

 

Neither did he expect for his face to be covered in sweet slight butterfly kisses. Wish cheeks blooming and gaze unfocused, Jungkook turned his face away awkwardly, meeting the eyes of a kitten, who came closer to them. Taehyung was kissing his temple and even left a few on his ears, making them red as well.

 

“H-hyung, stop, he’s watching,” Jungkook mumbled, awkward under the kitten’s intense look and Kim’s weird behaviour.

 

“Let him watch. He’s still young, doesn’t understand a thing,” Taehyung whispered naughtily, cupping the other’s face with both his hands and turning it back. “It’s the best gift I ever had in my life.”

 

_ “Alright, Park Jimin, live for now,” _ was the last sober thought in his head.

 

After that there was only the ringing silence, confusion and fulfilling pleasure, as Taehyung finally got the courage to press his lips onto the other’s.

 

***

 

Jimin has always had a soft spot in his heart for sweets, and so considered the Honedukes sweetshop a little Heaven on Earth. It had got so many things, beneath imaginable, and the boy was dreaming of having a taste of everything one day, but for now his favorite remained toffees and so he continued buying an absolutely ridiculous amount of them. Which, though, didn’t prevent him from buying a huge candy that he didn’t try yet as a bonus, or a lollipop, or a caramel apple. However, this time he had to go easy on toffees, as Park nearly fought Yoongi, who loved those sweets just as much. As well as a hundred other students who bought a bigger part of all of those in the early morning.

 

“You’ve been eating these candies all your life, and I have just had the taste of ‘em.”

 

“This is not a reason for me to give up my half to you, I always buy exactly fifty of ‘em.”

 

“Hyung, that’s unfair! I’m younger, you have to let me!”

 

“Huh. You’re younger, you have to take care of your teeth.”

 

“If you eat this much sweets you’ll get fat, Yoongi-hyung!”

 

“Park Jimin, it hurts me to disappoint you, but extra kilograms won’t stop me from eating these candies. And, I’m an ectomorph.”

 

“Come on, young man, give in to the child,” the saleswoman finally intervened. She was touched by the two boys’s little dispute, but they stopped the queue.

 

“Okay, brat, I’m giving you ten candies and you learn five more spells today. And buy me a cotton candy.”

 

“Alright, hyung, but don’t you think I’m letting you get away with this. I will be occupying your room all evening!”

 

“Deal.”

 

“Deal!”

 

The deal sealed with a handshake, saleswoman’s relieved sigh and packets of sweets tossed to their hands. With a head high Min took the giant blue mint cotton candy and left the shop with a look of a winner. Jimin followed him, stuffing his mouth with toffees and closing eyes in pleasure. Not only he won the sweets, but also got hyung’s time.

 

Boys looked around the street and non-verbally decided to head towards the castle. Yoongi had received his books at last, and Jimin had the time to pay for the kitten. After enjoying good tea and a pie as well as a nice talk in a cafe, the boys went to the sweetshop, where had spent a good twenty minutes, choosing and arguing, and now, delighted, were going back. Half-way Jimin spotted a shop with magical clothing and sprinted towards it, asking hyung to wait for him. He wasn’t thinking that it would take so long, spending at least fifteen minutes there, and when he went back out with a wanted purchase, felt a bit lost not seeing Yoongi anywhere. He observed the street and the nearby shops meticulously, sighed in stinging disappointment and headed to the castle alone.

 

_ “You shouldn’t be sad, he might have been called by his friends or forgotten something,” _ Jimin tried to calm himself, rambling on the path leading back.

 

Nonetheless, he couldn’t get rid of thoughts of how Yoongi had just grown tired in these few hours of the younger boy, who kept asking him stupid things and didn’t get the gist of what Yoongi was trying to explain at the first go all the time. Going through the muddy road and not paying attention to his jeans, all dirty up to his knees, Jimin worked himself up to the state of depression and  _ “I’m as miserable as I have always been, nothing had changed” _ , when he heard someone calling from behind.

 

“Park Jimin, why the heck you left, huh? I told you I’m gonna go elsewhere, I went to that shop and asked you to wait for me,” Yoongi grumbled in displeasure.

 

He was more angry at the mud on the road than at Jimin, who didn’t wait for him. This was why he usually took the forest path, where it was tidy and quiet and overall nice. Finally catching up to Park, Min assessed him with a heavy gaze, and then pushed a small glass box to his hands.

 

“Here. I saw you liked her. But I thought she’d be bored alone, so I bought two of them.”

 

“H-hyung…”

 

An excited exhale, full of delight and gratitude, left his chest unintentionally when Jimin saw the tortoise with a purple carapace that he liked the moment his eyes caught her, and another one huddled next to the first one, only she was orange.

 

“The purple one turns red, and the orange one - dark green. They’re a boy and a girl, if you treat them right, they’ll even have kids,” Yoongi mumbled after clearing his throat.

 

“Hyung, I bought you a present, too. Not really the one I wanted to buy originally, but I didn’t have enough money,” Jimin giggled and handed the packet to the other. “But I hope you’ll like it. You know what, take them for a moment.”

 

The turtles went back to Yoongi, while Jimin was getting a long white scarf out of the packet and wrapping it around the coat’s collar and the other’s neck, tying it up securely. At first Yoongi was puzzled whether he needs another scarf if he has plenty of them already, but then felt the collar warming up and warming his neck with a heavy heat spreading nicely at his shoulders, chest and back down to his shoulder blades.

 

“This is a magical scarf, it will keep you warm at all times. The colder it is outside or wherever you are, the warmer it gets. I chose the white one ‘cause is suits everything, but there might be a spell for changing its color? Although, now that I remember everything you taught me, you can hardly affect a magical item with any other magic. Except for the blood magic, which is a dark one and is illegal.”

 

Jimin was speaking in a rushed manner, chattering and stammering, as he always did when worried. He worried now that hyung might not like his present. While Yoongi was looking at the boy, thinking about how right now Jimin's babbling warms him much more than the scarf. Because the boy gave him a gift, because he chose the one that fits his eternal  _ "I am frozen" _ , because he did not buy the first one he saw, but he was choosing. And because he really listened to everything that Yoongi was telling him in the cafe, although this was not the most suitable and interesting topic for their little outing.

 

“Thank you,” he said quietly, smiling.

 

“Welcome,” Jimin mumbled, taking his turtles, turning back and walking to the castle.

 

This warm and sincere smile drowned Park in embarrassment, and made him wanna smile a broad and absurdly idiotic smile, which he was, in fact, doing. Yoongi, who walked behind, was clearly aware of the other’s state, as he could see the red ears and a scarlet cheek when Jimin threw timid glances at him.

 

And because he felt the same, fixing his scarf up to his nose and trying to cover his own smile, that wasn’t going to fade any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Have you guys seen the practise? Jimin is just a god during his solo. He's so plastic, graceful and just a ballerine. Especially that part when he steps on his tiptoe and leads his hand around. Our ballet students couldn't dance like that. Pink cotton is cool. And then wooden Yoongi follows him. The opposites attract.
> 
> T/N: I have no idea what exact practise is the author referring to, or what Pink cotton she's talking about. Anyways, see you guys soon with next chapter and sorry for the long wait! Please comment if you notice any mistakes or if you want to say how you like it this far uwu


	9. The truth;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My next favorite chapter lmao it's just so intense aaaaaaa
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy!^^~

Yoongi was sitting on top of the bed with a pillow to support his back, pretending to be interested in reading a book for about an hour already. His eyes were looking through the pages, though, more likely looking into his own thoughts than the text; while his ears remotely tried to catch the spells Jimin was whispering under his nose, rustling his clothes made when the boy fidgeted and the pages turned. Jimin kept his word and was busy with trying to learn some new spells, going further than needed in his book. Time to time, he took his wand and repeated the passes, then put it back away, reading deeper into the meaning of the spell, its name and description, when and who was the first to use it. In Yoongi’s room Jimin felt a strange boost of energy to help him memorize everything much easier, even the dull books’ texts, which is why he didn’t stop practising for quite some time.

 

Yoongi wasn’t complaining, as the atmosphere of the room soon put him into a train of thought of what was happening to him. Feelings and emotions, joy and smiles and laughter breaking out of his chest. Yoongi left it long forgotten in the past, but somehow Jimin made him feel again and live again. Min is only eighteen but he is already as cold as charity, ready to get into the coffin in a few days. Jimin broke into his life like a spring tornado, filling his soul with blooming flowers. It sounds so cheezy and fluffy, but describes Yoongi’s state quite accurately. For the first time in years he was willing to spend his free time not studying, but actually going out. He didn’t want to stay silent during breakfast or lunch, eating food and staring into his plate numbly, but he wanted to chat and laugh. He didn’t even want to lock himself up in his room except for the times Jimin was also there. Even the ubiquitous cold tormenting him at all times, more far-fetched than really existing, stepped aside.

 

Park Jimin - this smiley sun with fluffy cheeks, ready to give his warmth to anyone in need. Yoongi didn’t consider himself the one in need, dreaming about merely finishing school and running away to Scotland or wherever else, but he started melting the instant he met this sincere smile. Jimin looked weird in Yoongi’s eyes. Silly and awkward, not taking the changes in his life as anything serious and not giving a single thought about the future, the importance of studying or anything else. Jimin isn’t worried about all the unfriendly morons around him, wandering around the castle on his own without knowing even a hundredth part of all the corridors and passages, not scared of getting lost. Take the Dungeons at least.

 

During the past two weeks Yoongi was observing Jimin carefully, even though he didn’t notice the boy before. Slytherin Prefect had to walk the boy to the required classroom countless amount of times, watching his individual lessons and how he, afraid of no one and nothing, sat at the table in the common room to do his tasks. And he was watched by the others, made a joke of, pointed fingers at and called names, even bullied sometimes. Once some snotty fourth year crossed the lane, Yoongi was already going to intervene when Namjoon gave the youngest such a heavy cuff on the neck that he almost fell on his face. Later Min had noticed a few times Namjoon sitting next to or in front of Jimin, seemingly busy with his own tasks, but at the same time helping the younger. Yoongi wanted to be in his place, but he couldn’t. Because there was something strange going on in his soul, and he couldn’t figure out his own feelings, tangled in them.

 

_ “You’ve done it, figured it out,”  _ was the first thought in Yoongi’s head when he saw Namjoon together with Jimin.

 

Happy, laughing and talking, and then Jimin makes his wand do magic and babbles excitedly  _ “Namjoon-hyung taught me” _ . And Yoongi lost his cool, because… There were many “because”-s. Wasn’t it Jimin who was following him like a tail and watched him in awe? Was it not Yoongi but Namjoon who saved his ass and got him out of troubles? Wasn’t it Yoongi who started teaching the boy to help him first? Wasn’t it Yoongi who deserved all this excitement? Why  was it so unfair?

 

Obviously, Yoongi did realize that Jimin considers him merely a housemate and an acquaintance, but at the same time he was lacking the other’s attention terribly. Plus, would the person really turn to a playful puppy, look at you faithfully and pout his pretty lips simply because of one rough thoughtless word? Next to Yoongi Jimin himself transformed magically from a dark tired cloud to a bright warm sun. Jimin trusted, Jimin was always willing to cooperate, Jimin snuggled around and intruded his personal space. They even slept in one bed. Not once and not by accident, actually.

 

And the younger’s behaviour taken with all the circumstances was interpreted by Yoongi pretty much as affinity and interest, at least because apart from all the puppy cuteness Jimin maintained their communication even after Yoongi’s confession of his sexual orientation. Even though he wasn’t gay, at least not before a few days ago when he started doubting it, but that was supposed to draw Jimin away and make him avoid moments like sharing the bed. However, his reaction to Yoongi’s story of Taehyung and Jungkook relationship was pretty peaceful and natural. Was it because Jimin loved Taehyung too much to pay attention to things like his friend’s sexuality, or was he just loyal to LGBT+ despite growing up in a world where such things are considered unnatural.

 

_ “Or, he just tries to be careful with his words after I told him it is as good as normal in our world,” _ Yoongi thought abscent-mindedly and drew his eyes from the book in Jimin’s hands to the reading boy.

 

This way or the other, these things all together seemed to show Jimin’s affection and sympathy at least as one to a mate or even a friend. And here is where the second part of their relationship showed up, if you can say so. All these shy gazes and smiles, constantly reddening cheeks and Jimin’s awkwardness when Yoongi was too close. It would be easy to say it was merely his innocent and pure character if only Min hasn’t seen the other’s brains from inside. Yes it was mean and ugly, but Yoongi is a Slytherin, so he is allowed to do such things. Especially when it was done not just to air his dirty laundry but to actually find out what Jimin has in his mind and his soul, what troubles and worries him. Yoongi just wanted to help and soothe the discomfort of this whole sudden magic awakening and coming to Hogwarts situation. What was completely unexpected for him, it’s the thoughts of his own lips.

 

To be honest, right after seeing the other’s fantasies of his lips and  _ “touch”, ”caress” _ and  _ ”press” _ Yoongi started noticing Jimin’s eyes drawn to the certain part of his face occasionally. When Yoongi was telling something, when he stayed silent, when he smiled or chewed his lower lip in distraction. Jimin watched carefully and timidly in a way, but so intently that Min questioned himself involuntarily how he never noticed it before. The other’s wishes and thoughts concerning the beauty and softness of his lips made him one evening stand in front of the mirror instead of going to sleep and look at his own lips, trying to figure out what was so special about them. Ordinary lips.

 

And then this stupid Jimin gathers courage to indulge his fantasies and make it real. Yoongi wasn’t sleeping that whole time, merely enjoying his sleepy bliss and the warmth of the bed when Jimin decided to touch him. Warm fingertip felt nice and right, Yoongi even wanted to peck it just to startle and embarrass the bold younger boy, but instead he succumbed to the intimacy of the moment, not pushing away, but pulling closer to himself and mumbling all that snotty nonsense about fire.

 

Jimin really did look like fire. Bright and radiant from the inside, warm, very warm and warming with your smiles, looks, touches. And care. He made sure Yoongi was eating proper meals, because  _ “all skin and bone” _ , brought him hot cacao from god knows where and even gave all his sweets that first time, when Yoongi asked his payment for having to  _ “huddle at the edge of the bed because of you” _ , even though it was a little dirty lie. Jimin tried to lift up his mood, he joked and laughed at his own jokes, which made Yoongi smile, he acted lively and cheekily, not ashamed of fooling around and drag Yoongi into his playfullness. And he was a grown ass guy. They both were. Yoongi grumbled but let himself be provoked anyways.

 

_ “You remind me of fire, Jimin. You gift me with your warm, but I can’t ever have anything other than that.” _

 

Distilled truth, but was it worth proclaiming? Yoongi seemed to sort his shit out and realize he was not willing to let his smiley warm Jimin go anywhere. He didn’t want the boy to waste his time with Taehyung, didn’t want him to go out with anyone else, didn’t want him to find help and support in other people. Yoongi wanted to be the only significant person in his life. Yoongi started to understand like never Jungkook and his  _ “TaeTae-hyung is only mine” _ . The thing is, Taehyung is eager to meet the younger half-way, voluntarily locking himself up in a cage with a sign saying  _ “Jeon Jungkook’s property” _ , while Jimin is nothing like that, Jimin is curious beyond needed and a bit eccentric if he is admiring the lips of the other boy. But, most likely, there is no deep meaning in such things.

 

Jimin stops reading and takes his wand, starting to write her pirouettes in the air. Yoongi looks at the protruding vein on his wrist and the clearly visible blue plexus of veins under his tanned skin. He still remembers the ephemeral plume of its taste on his own lips. That chaste kiss to feel the warmth and softness, to catch the trembling pulse in the veins. A second of weakness, indulgence of his whim and, as a result, Jimin escaped. Yoongi heard the door slam shut and something important broke in his chest, crumbling down with a roar.

 

It all sounds so cheesy one more time, but sometimes it’s the cheesy lines that strikes the goal. Yoongi was scared to trembling fingers that Jimin would never smile to him again, wouldn’t come to whine to his ears and steal some sweets. Not now, when Min got attached to someone for the first time to the point of letting himself take the masks off in front of the other. He didn’t want the boy to be avoiding him and drawing his gaze away awkwardly, to be silent or mumbling nonsense in front of him because of the overwhelming embarrassment or disgust. Yoongi just wanted the younger to understand somehow that he became someone dear and cherished to him. How do you explain this? You won’t give him a box of sweets with a pink note, will you? Although Jimin would never refuse a pack of toffees.

 

“Hyung, can you help me? This gesture is weird, I can’t twist my wrist in such a way, it’s not made of rubber,” Jimin called, furrowing his brows and looking away from the book.

 

Keeping in mind the fact that Jimin gets “distracted by intonations” and embarrassed by someone else’s intimacy, Yoongi took his own wand and moved to the edge of the bed, sitting there on top of his folded legs. He glanced at the page of the textbook where the pass was drawn and described and extended his hand with the wand forward.

 

“It’s easy. First of all, don’t make the gesture so wide that your wrist is twisted. The size, width and height of the pass the quality of the performed spell won’t get better or worse. Especially if you need to perform it in a rush, you will be moving your hand quickly, drawing a tiny pass, not wavering your hand which would take more time. This move is similar to an upside-down comma or a spinning spiral. It just has a few corners to highlight.”

 

Yoongi repeated the pass and looked at Jimin, sighing. The boy looked at Yoongi’s wand wistfully and hopelessly, then lifting his eyes to the Slytherin himself.

 

“Hyung, you do realize I didn’t understand a thing,” the brown-head exhaled, hand going through his hair at the nape.

 

“Sorry, but I don’t know how else to explain this, you said it yourself that my method isn’t working. You can go see Namjoon, he has a talent for explanations as it turned out,” Yoongi shrugged his shoulders, looking at the fire dancing in the fireplace.

 

He himself had no idea why he said that, it blurted out on its own seemingly. The most easy and effective way was to guide Jimin’s hand, but he was such a sensitive noli who was too hot or too cold or too thirsty or lacking air. Such a reaction to his own closeness was actually quite satisfying to Min, but not at this particular moment, as Jimin had a ton of things to learn, would he spend most of the time with Namjoon from now on? Great, just wonderful.

 

Jimin gave him a surprised look, afterwards looking away bashfully as expected. He understood instantly why Yoongi said this, and his cheeks flushed the same moment. He remembered his own words, spilled all at once to the other’s head, and all the moments of invading personal space, when Yoongi tried to explain more clearly how to hold the wand, and then the early morning’s incident. It was all to awkward and embarrassing, but Jimin was the one to blame, it was he who broke the boundaries.

 

_ “Yoongi is used to you being always around. It’s pure jealousy. He’s just nervous and afraid you wouldn’t want to talk to him anymore,” _ Namjoon’s voice echoed in his head.

 

And then his own:

 

_ “Yoongi-hyung is the bestest hyung! How can I not wanna talk to him?”  _

 

Jimin really did think so. Jimin really did feel attached and fully enjoyed spending time with Yoongi, his attention and fascinating stories. Jimin really did not even consider putting an end to their communication even under a death threat. Taking into consideration that he was given a hint on such an outcome from Hoseok already, Jimin could boldly state such things. Nothing and no one would make him stop talking to hyung. After all, Jimin chose Slytherin for one purpose only: to be next to Min. He wanted to take care of Yoongi, despite the other being the elder one, he wanted to argue about the sweets and grate him with his attention and a comforting and habitual  _ “hyung, I brought you cacao to warm you up” _ . Jimin did sympathize Yoongi and wasn’t going to hurt his feelings, and it happened purely by accident.

 

“Nonsense, hyung. I want you to teach me. Please…”

 

This plaintive  _ “please” _ , the hand on his knee and puppy's crouching look couldn’t let Yoongi stay indifferent. So the Slytherin stood up from the bed, grunting something about  _ “someone clearly doesn’t know what he wants” _ to maintain an image and stayed next to Jimin, grasping his wrist. Standing next to the boy, Yoongi realized that it would make nothing good because he was pulling the other’s hand to his side too much, but it was worth trying.

 

“Look. We go from the center to the left, around the corner and down, one more corner and back up, as if we were drawing a triangle with round corners, but this line we draw further up and aside, not to touch the start. Here, now left again, done.”

 

Guiding the other’s hand, Yoongi got the feeling that the outcome is certainly not the right pass. Jimin noticed it, too, tracing the oval spiral that they made. He himself did better. Park glanced at the other’s hand and how Yoongi kept a half a meter distance. Jimin didn’t know where all this courage came from in his own coward self, but he took a brave step to Min and turned his back to the boy. Yoongi froze on his spot when the other’s back touched his chest, and soft maroon hair tickled the tip of his nose and chin. Without further questions, not to scare the unexpected gift of fate away, Yoongi wrapped one arm around Jimin’s waist, pulling him closer and realizing that it is actually completely unnecessary. Resting his chin on the other’s shoulder, Min covered Jimin’s fingers, clutching the wand, with his palm, now guiding him neatly and precisely.

 

“Here’s how you do it,” Yoongi remarked quietly and highly neutral, helping the boy do the pass correctly. “Now let’s try it with the spell. I recently knocked the mirror over, there’s a crack in its rim. Go, try it. Don’t forget to pronounce the spell clearly and correctly.”

 

Of course, Jimin didn’t manage it from the first try. He either jerked his hand abruptly, or started widening the spiral again, twisting his wrist uncomfortably, but the eleventh try is finally successful. Jimin is overjoyed, as expected, much like if he had just won a sweetshop or was granted three wishes.

 

“I did it, hyung!” the boy yells in delight.

 

The crack fixed itself under his wand right after the treasured  _ “reparo” _ . Turning his head, Jimin didn’t think that Yoongi’s face would be so close. Okay, yes, well, he did know that from the beginning, but somehow he didn’t give it much thought, trying to abstract himself and focus on the spell. And now the other’s cheek is right in front of his nose, and the boy is not thinking at all when he pushes forward.

 

Yoongi is stunned. Yoongi is a stoned statue. Yoongi had ended slowly at this very place, when plump warm lips pressed themselves to his cheek in a kiss. Without any sudden moves, as if he was close to a dangerous and poisonous animal, Min carefully pulled back, looking at Jimin in utter surprise. Intruding the other’s mind happened automatically, because the Slytherin couldn’t understand why, what for, how and further and more. But Jimin’s head had no answers, the boy being embarrassed by what he just did himself. The only thing that Yoongi got was that it was not a taunt and not a way of thanking. It was just the way of showing his joy and gratitude and… Something else that Yoongi couldn’t risk taking a look at, because the boy’s head showed pictures of his own lips once again, which was too much even for such a cool cold-hearted guy whose name was Min Yoongi.

 

“Good job, Jiminnie,” he said with a smile, caressing the younger’s hair. “You’ve repeated the old spells a few times without too many mistakes and learned a few new ones. I’m proud of you. Keep this speed up, and you’ll get better in an instance, your determination is truly amazing. But let’s wrap it up for today.”

 

“Can I stay?”

 

The question blurted out and hanged mid-air, when Jimin covered his mouth with his hand in such a funny and childish way, looking away. Jimin’s embarrassment has so many facets, something new every time, which makes Yoongi get soft every damn time.

 

“I mean, well, we will have to study again tomorrow, and this way we wouldn’t have to seek each other all around the castle. In the morning we can go to the kitchen together, you still didn’t show me where it is. And then we can go to the lake, and then go on with our studying. Also, we still have the time before curfew, I don’t want to sit in the bedroom, and the common room is filled with all the others at this time. And I don’t wanna wander around the cas-”

 

“Okay. You can stay. But you would have to sit quiet for a while until I finish my own task.”

 

Once again. Beaming with delight, faithful look and a wide ear-to-ear smile that makes Jimin’s eyes resemble crescents. Yoongi doesn’t know what the hell goes on in the boy’s soul, but he isn’t going to miss the boat. First of all, the younger’s company gives him comfort and less lonely even when they stay silent. Yoongi had never minded loneliness, the opposite, honestly, but Jimin’s appearance changed many things. Secondly, it’d be warmer to sleep at night, Jimin’s sleep is deep enough for Yoongi to cuddle up to him, stealing the other body’s warmth. Thirdly, Jimin who stayed here is Jimin who stayed out of trouble. Fourthly, it definitely is easier when he doesn’t have to look for Jimin in the morning. Not that Yoongi had ever done that before, but he felt his anxiety get stronger each time he didn’t have Jimin in his sight. Fifthly, this list can be prolonged to the eternity, which is why Yoongi returns to his book, this time reading it for real and leaving marks on the pages.

 

***

 

Jungkook is feral. Forbidden spells fill his head, the spells that will, if not kill the man, then cripple him for sure. And he wanted to break Jimin’s fucking legs, because what was happening was all his fault. Because Taehyung paid exactly zero attention to him, being all busy with Cookie. Cookie. Who in his right mind would even give a cat such a name? Jungkook did know that his hyung was special and eccentric, but this?

 

“You’re such a cute boy. Come to daddy.”

 

Kim Taehyung, sixteen years old, sixth year Gryffindor, the headache to all the professors and a certain Kim Seokjin. Busy crawling on his bed, petting, cuddling, hugging and tormenting with his fondness the white fur ball with legs, which is meowing quietly, driving his owner ecstatic, and jumping obediently but awkwardly (which makes it even more cute) after the human’s hand pretending to be a crab. It was all, of course, touching and amusing, but not when it is going on for three hours already. When Taehyung ran out of steam, Jungkook immediately moved closer, to go to his favorite hyung, who deprived him of attention, the instant he calls him, when Kim lies on his back and puts the kitten on top of his solar plexus, giving the pet a peck to his soft warm ear.

 

_ “Park Jimin, you did it to spite me,” _ Jungkook thinks the hundredth time, breathing angrily.

 

Fairly speaking, he had a feeling that the reaction and the following behavior would be like that, but he still decided to take a risk and make his favorite hyung happy. But as a result, hyung is ignoring him, giving all his attention and affection to the kitten, not giving a damn about Jungkook. These past hours Jeon had read the textbooks, done his homework, and ‘d been throwing pencils at the ceiling in utter boredom, but Taehyung gave no reaction to his heavy sighs of despair. It was time to get to dinner, though, and the Gryffindor stood up from his bed, tidying up his sweater and hair.

 

“Hyung, dinner. Let’s go?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Taehyung stood up readily, holding the kitten in his arms and smiling widely. Jungkook hoped that he’d leave the pet, but no. Kim looked as if he was about to take his Cookie to dinner. Jungkook couldn’t let this happen, because if he did, then all the attention at the table would be driven to the fluffy ball only, and Seokjin would get on their nerves with his notations spoiling the appetite. Hence, the boy takes the kitten from the elder’s hands and puts him into the basket, covering him with a warm scarf.

 

“Let’s go,” he called, dragging the blond away. “The elves will take care of him, they’ll wash him and feed him and pet him to sleep. And we are going to dinner, because I am starving.”

 

Thanks God Taehyung didn’t argue, nodding and obediently following the boy, intertwining their fingers, making Jungkook blush and feel over the moon. Although, his happiness didn’t last long, as at the table Taehyung was telling each and everyone who was willing to listen about how he has such a cute kitten now, answered the girls’ questions and their typical  _ “omg can I look at him please?” _ and dutifully ignored their friends’ mockery of his sentiments. The boy paid no attention to Jungkook whatsoever, and the fourth year was actually starting to believe the “conspiracy theory” that he came up with.

 

When Jimin showed up at the hall’s entrance, accompanied by Yoongi, Jungkook took off from the table in the Slytherin’s direction immediately. He was going to catch Park in the corridor at first, but the lack of Taehyung’s attention always turned the nice boy that he was into a thistle thorn spitting poison. So the Gryffindor made it to the Slytherin in a moment, gloomy like a shadow above the boy’s shoulders. As soon as Jimin felt his heavy glare, he turned and twitched aside unwillingly, burnt by the other’s anger.

 

“Thank you very much for helping me choose the present for hyung, Jiminie,” Jungkook hissed, getting closer to the other’s ear, so that no one else can hear what he says. “He won’t even look at me now. Believe me, I will make you pay. So stay away from dark passages.”

 

Ignoring the fact that Jimin is actually a hyung for him, and also ignoring Yoongi’s intense stare as well as all the other Slytherins, Jungkook straightened his back and grinned.

 

“Don’t forget our training at nine in the morning tomorrow. Don’t oversleep.”

 

After fully enjoying the other’s nervousness and fear with a disappointed  _ “why do you need to make it this early in the morning?” _ , Jungkook, satisfied with himself, headed to the exit. After all, what good it would do for him to sit here if he’s already eaten, and Taehyung doesn’t care? It’d be better to catch Minho or someone else in the common room and play chess. It’s good for memory and brains overall.

 

***

 

Jung Hoseok was used to living life to the fullest. Since childhood the boy had been raised… Well, he hadn’t been raised at all. Certain thing, numerous nannies and governesses were always near him, the teachers visited their house regularly, trying to put knowledge, manners, etiquette and other useful for keeping an image of a rich pureblood heir of an ancient family crap into his head. However, no one had ever told the boy what it means to be not just a moody and nasty little kid who can get away with practically anything, but a decent human being. To be fair, who could ever tell him? It’s a job for kid’s parents usually, but Hoseok has no one other than his mother.

 

She was a very beautiful and elegant woman, and she was never going to rot in a gigantic house, wasting her best years being married to some ordinary official and raising a child. Missis Jung was not an extremely powerful witch, but she was well-educated and had a certain passion for potions. This love was hereditary from her father, who was an explorer and an inventor of many potions, both the ones to cure a disease and the ones to make a person die slowly in a painful agony. This being said, there was nothing particularly surprising in Missis Jung getting married to the first rich man who asked for her hand and heart when she was still a young girl. That man soon perished of his exacerbated heart disease. There had been lots of gossip, the newspapers going mad, and the widowed woman acquired a huge fortune and soon got married again without much mourning. In this marriage, Hoseok was born, and his father didn’t live to his forty either.

 

Perhaps this was the reason the boy grew up to be such a nasty and selfish jerk, as his mother didn’t really care and there was no father in his life to put him into place, give a good beating up if needed, lock up in a room or at least scold him. When his magic awakened, the house had been practically on fire. Hope was hot-headed and quick to judge and never give a second thought to his magic depending on his mood. The rooms burned, been flooded, house elves crawled like under Cruciatus, and his mother only gave him a slap from time to time and ordered to get his shit together and stop damaging the valuable property. And that was it.

 

Long-awaited eleventh birthday, and Hoseok is on his way to Hogwarts, where he is destined to get into Slytherin. If not, he’d wipe this whole school off the global map. Such thoughts filled the kid’s head, as he’d been sure that studying anywhere else except for the green house was embarrassing and not worthy of his marvelous self. And he also had no intention to be anywhere near to different rabble, half-bloods and dumbheads. Sure enough, with this kind of a mood he grinned nastily from the beginning and didn’t let any of the children near himself, even if they just wanted to be friends. What was the point of it, he thought. The Sorting ceremony has not yet taken place. And what would happen if Hoseok gave someone a privilege of a handshake, and that kid would get into Hufflepuff later? Ew, disgusting.

 

“Jung Hoseok. Slytherin!”

 

Perhaps this was the second the boy was the happiest in his entire life. Now he was going to become a powerful wizard, get a ton of useful acquaintances, and by the time he graduates this dumb school the whole world would be at his feet. However, it didn’t work out the way the boy was expecting. He was being avoided, as he was too arrogant, no one wanted to sit next to him in class, as he always taunted everyone and made them cry, even though he himself made quite an amount of mistakes, sometimes even worse than others. Hoseok was getting out of his skin to make those acquaintances, but he had nothing. And then, one of these unfortunate days, he let his anger out by pushing a girl.

 

To be fair, Hoseok had never hurt any girl before, but that time he was rushing to escape the common room, where he had been “humiliated” again, when they refused to do some pair work on Transfiguration, and the girl was entering the common room just that second. It was her who Hoseok pushed. It was her who fell and hurt her elbow badly. It was her brother who made Hoseok’s face meet the wall a second later.

 

“You lay a finger to her again and I screw your head off, you got me?”

 

Min Yoongi, a second year and that fallen girl brother. Hoseok’d been so scared he couldn’t get a word out of his mouth, because Yoongi was looking at him. Not just looking, but his gaze was piercing, heavy, cold and completely unemotional, except for the dangerous gleam. It was a gaze of a snake that once attacked Hoseok when he was playing in the garden and broke a glass box where that said snake lived. His mother brought it from a warm country, and its scale was really rare and special. Used in many priceless cure potions and many poisons, too, obviously. The snake itself wasn’t poisonous, though, so Hoseok was just eager to have some fun. There was no fun, however, when the creature thrown itself at him, biting its fangs into his arm. And now this Min Yoongi is in front of him, looking at him just the same way the snake looked at him before its attack.

 

“Yoongi-yah, leave him, he’s not worth it,” the girl called, getting up from the floor. Even in comparison to her slender brother, she was so skinny and frail that it seemed the wind could easily blow her away.

 

After that incident Hoseok got quieter. He stopped trying to build his “power” up, stopped paying attention to the smithers left of the shattered castle of his dreams of conquering the world. His boredom made him start studying. First year, second, third passed in a blink of an eye, and when Hoseok entered his fourth year, he somehow started talking to Yoongi, to his sister and to Namjoon, too. They had a huge fight with the latter once, by the way. Namjoon had brought Seokjin to study together that one time. The Slytherin, filled with prejudice regarding other houses to the core, couldn’t help but say a bunch of very unpleasant things to Jin. And there was the result. Although, later Hope cooled down and decided he’d rather keep his mouth shut and bear Seokjin’s rare presence than be completely left behind by the others.

 

And then, something clicked in his head during his fifth year, when Hope suddenly realised he likes Yoongi. The boy seemed so serious and powerful, strong without doing much for it, he had this dark yet appealing aura and was incredibly smart. Yoongi was nothing like all the other guys, and his gaze remained the same through all these years, still making Hoseok’s spine shiver in worry when Min pierced him with his unblinking eyes. In such moments things like excitement and adrenaline woke up in Hope’s soul, and therefore he purposely tried to drive Yoongi mad sometimes, merely to feel this  _ “on the edge” _ feeling. There had only been one problem with these feelings. There was no reciprocation. And that’s why Hoseok switched to Yoongi’s sister.

 

It had been going on pretty nice for a while, Hoseok continued watching Yoongi secretly, at the same time doing his best at their relationship with his sister, so that the girl wouldn’t complain to her brother and the latter wouldn’t kill him. Yoongi warned him the very first moment that even though his sister was not a child and had her own head to think with, Min would eat Hoseok alive if anything happens to her. And the blond’s gaze was so terrifying that second, that Hoseok believed his words. Eat. Will be choking on slimy intestines and swallowing blood, scratching his own throat with the breaking bones, but will gobble him up. Like a snake.

 

And then there was the fifth year and the harrow Hell where their whole company fell hopelessly. The accident with Yoongi’s sister, Yoongi being ready to kill Hoseok, Hoseok loathing and blaming himself only for everything that had happened, Namjoon and Seokjin trying to drag them both back, figuratively, out of the noose. The further the worse, when aurors, when the investigation, when the trials and interrogations, when Yoongi had caused a huge mess out of his temper and stupidity. And then there was only emptiness in their burnt souls, as Yoongi blamed himself for letting this all happen, and Hoseok blamed himself for not being able to keep the sacred treasure he’d been trusted with, safe. He didn’t mourn for long, though, and got back to his feet as soon as Yoongi’s sister left. The feelings taking over him once again, Yoongi being always somewhere close, the silent support, warm looks and a hoarse  _ “hey, it’s gonna be alright, she’s alive and that’s what matters” _ .

 

This wasn’t enough for Yoongi to be happy, however. He shut himself in, becoming one of those very assholes who are being spoken of in a whisper, with half despite and half fear. That asshole that was a cliche of a Slytherin, as people thought any Slytherin would be, even the first years, who can’t hold a wand properly. But Hoseok was there for him. Hoseok had gone through beating ups, through contempt, through threats and curses. They fought and argued, Yoongi spat poison, hit his face, his ribs, accused in any misdeed. And Hoseok endured it. Endured, because he knew he was guilty, and he could only stay close, because the damn feelings got strong again.

 

_ “Wow, the lions always drag some trash to their place, but where did you dig him out from?” _

 

_ “You’d better stay out of this, Hoseok.” _

 

And since that day everything escalated terribly down. Because Yoongi, reserved and unemotional, phlegmatic and indifferent, had shown interest in someone. Hoseok, although busy arguing with Taehyung, with whom it was always funny to fight in words, had noticed Yoongi approaching that weirdo in ripped dirty clothes, and he had heard as clear as a day the other’s timid  _ “hi” _ , too. And then Yoongi had gone into his own thoughts and stopped reacting to whatever. Hoseok spent the whole evening trying to make him move, but had zero result.

 

And now what? Now this idiot, Park Jimin, some unimaginable way had gotten sorted into Slytherin, bringing shame to the whole house. Now this bastard puppy is whirling around Yoongi, taking all his attention. They go out together, they study together, they sit together in the Great Hall, together they go to Hogsmeade. And the worst of it is that Hoseok, used to reading emotions even from the ice cold mask on Yoongi’s face, sees that the other is melting. That he also is reaching out to that Jimin boy, he easily meets him half way, agreeing to go anywhere together, he even shares those stupid sweets, and he was ready to bite Hoseok’s hand off for trying to touch them. Why is it so unfair? Why, it was always Hoseok who was there for Yoongi, and Jimin is the one who gets all this? Why, it was Hope who supported and kept him from drowning in the sea of despair, but all that he gets is a cold  _ “get out” _ , while Yoongi saves that stupid reckless Park Jimin’s ass, the boy being so dumb he willingly goes into the beast’s mouth?

 

“ As soon as you get out of your bounds, I’ll find a way to get away with it.”

 

Hoseok didn’t lie. He had let Yoongi go once, and look what happened. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. And the fact that Jimin is ignoring his words is only playing into the hands of the Slytherin. He just had to come up with a simple plan now, and it’s in the bag. And he actually has some ideas already, because his silly little brother inadvertently involuntarily provided him with the necessary information.

 

“Don’t forget our training at nine in the morning tomorrow. Don’t oversleep.”

 

It’s a piece of cake - to hex someone’s broom. Taking in thought that Jimin is naturally bad with brooms, you wouldn’t even need to put in work. And the fact that Hoseok would put Jungkook into trouble… Doesn’t matter. He was the first one to stab a knife in his back, when he chose Gryffindor for that pretty-looking Taehyung, even though his real place had always been Slytherin, right next to his brother.

 

***

 

Jimin was already half asleep, when Yoongi finally put the book and pencil aside. Stretching, the boy moved down the bed, lying on the soft mattress and rubbing his tired eyes. It would have done good for them to take a break beforehand, but Jimin and he had already taken one when they went for dinner. By the way.

 

“Jungkook said you have a flying practice tomorrow?” the boy asked, turning to his side for a better look at Jimin.

 

“Yeah, at least, I hope for it to be a lesson, not a torture,” Jimin replied, mirroring the other’s pose. “The broom wouldn’t obey me, and Jungkook is a quidditch player, practically always on the broom. I thought, he’s the one who can help me. Especially after I helped him with a present for Taehyung, he owes me now. But I didn’t think he’d want to have a lesson that early, it’s a weekend after all, who wouldn’t want to have some sleep.”

 

“I can go with you, if you want. I hate waking up early, but we can go to Hogsmeade right after, they cook delicious lemon pies there in “The Three Broomsticks” in the mornings. And also, Jungkook won’t do any harm to you when I’m around, and he could.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The following silence wasn’t awkward, but got on their nerves nevertheless. The boys were both eyeing each other, not knowing what to discuss. They’ve been talking about the studies the whole day, doing some in between, and they have no other shared topics for discussion. Yoongi would love to talk, but he knows nothing about Jimin’s life. And that was it, like a lamp switched on in his head. It’s so simple.

 

“Jimin, tell me about yourself? I don’t know anything about you, actually,” Yoongi asked, moving slightly, settling comfortably.

 

“Well, I’m sixteen, my birthday is in October. I’d been living much like a usual schooler. Lessons, library, average grades. There’s only my mom, dad and I in the family. No siblings. My only friend is Taehyung, but I have lots of acquaintances, mostly from my school. I actually knew about magic for a long time now, I’ve been near Tae when the awakening started. And he wrote me all about the school, and when he came back for summer, he showed me all his textbooks and the uniform, and the wand, too. But I looked at all that in some kind of a disbelief, as if it was just a game. And then the magic awakened. I was going home from school and I was angry and I hit the lamppost. And it broke. Not only that lamp, but all the lamps in the street. And then there appeared a man in a cloak, and he dragged me to your Ministry. That’s when they realised I didn’t do that on purpose. But before they did, they tortured me for like an hour, not letting me even speak a word, threatened and frightened me. Creepy guys.”

 

Jimin cringed, remembering all that, and Yoongi smirked, watching his face. His memory showed him the day when they first met, when Jimin had his  _ “this is a dream” _ like a mantra in his head. There was also a girl in his head then.

 

“Why were you angry? Looks like you were furious,” Yoongi remarked, and Jimin looked in his eyes quickly before looking away.

 

“A girl. I liked one girl, and I wanted to confess. She was so nice, well-behaved and kind. Very pretty. I didn’t know how to get close to her, I didn’t want to hurt or offend her in some way. And then I saw that “pristine” almost having sex with a higher grade from our school in the library. I lost my temper then.”

 

“Did you like her a lot? Were you in love?”

 

“Nah. I just liked her, she didn’t react to my pick-up lines. And that’s what happened when I was about to confess forwardly. Couldn’t she just make it clear she was taken? It was probably hilarious to watch me following her, I really wanted her to like me back.”

 

The thoughts in Yoongi’s head are nor righteous or suitable in any way. Because the boy is only getting the certain words out of the context, paying attention to the ones about sympathy and  _ “following” _ , about  _ ”wanted to like me back” _ and  _ ”just liked” _ . Because it means that that girl means nothing to Jimin, and the other’s behaviour, so similar to what Yoongi is seeing, was really speaking of attraction. Jimin is, after all, following the Slytherin as well and everything else. And now this kiss, which is supposedly meaning that Jimin doesn’t only like Yoongi as a friend. But, Park didn’t say anything about that, and Yoongi didn’t have the courage to overthink. It’d be too painful to fall, if suddenly it turns out such a behaviour is a norm for this tactile smiley boy.

 

“What about you? Tell about yourself?” Jimin asked in return.

 

I’m eighteen, and my birthday is in March. Our family is ordinary, father’s always away due to his work. My sister and I were raised by out mother. We’re twins, she’s a couple minutes older than me. We studied together at first, she was a Slytherin as well, but during our fifth year it so happened that our mother transferred her to Beauxbatons Academy, it’s a school like Hogwarts, in France. She’s finishing her studies there, but she’s promised to come back after her graduation. She’d graduated by now already if she stayed, but the program is different in Beauxbatons, they have a practice or something, I didn’t really show any interest, to be honest. As a friend, I can only name Namjoon. Well, we had our own group before, all of us: me, Yoonji, Namjoon, Seokjin and Hoseok. Namjoon and Seokjin are childhood friends, so we got Jin into our group pretty easily. Well, Hoseok had some troubles with him at first.”

 

Yoongi stopped talking, looking at the fireplace in front of the bed. The fire reflected at the bottom of his pupils, and Jimin could also see an old pain there, hardly going to ever vanish. He remembered his conversation with Namjoon, and the fight between Yoongi and Seokjin. Right now was the perfect moment to ask, but Park didn’t have the guts to hurt old wounds one more time. He shifted closer and covered Yoongi’s hand with his own, squeezing his fingers. A second, and Yoongi’s looking at him, then their hands, smiling weakly and intertwined their fingers together.

 

“I know you’re curious. Namjoon told me you were interested. You wanna know what happened?”

 

“If you don’t want to remember, don’t,” Jimin asked, in response getting the lips tempting his gaze smiling.

 

“Trying to give me comfort, as usual. You’re so weird, Jiminie. Anyways, it all took place when we were fifth years. Hoseok was dating Yoonji at that time. They were going to meet that evening to have a date in Hogsmeade. Some famous magician was visiting the place, and Yoonji wanted to watch his performance. They were supposed to meet in the patio and go together. But, when Hoseok arrived, Yoonji was not there. He waited, five minutes, ten, fifteen. He thought, if she’s a girl she’s allowed to be late. But Yoonji was never the type to be late wherever she went. If only Hope had used his brains, if he’d gone looking for her, perhaps nothing would have happened.”

 

The other’s fingers are squeezing tightly, making it slightly painful, but Jimin doesn’t care, because he understands suddenly. He understands what had happened to Yoonji, he reads it in the other’s eyes, but Yoongi has to speak it out, Yoongi is looking into his eyes without blinking, biting his lips, and exhales a frightening:

 

“She got raped. Though, I’m the only one to think so, when aurors decided it to be a little accident. Of course, she was the one to let them do it. She wasn’t doing it willingly, she was under some kind of a fucking blood magic of a seventh year who was all over her, whose family was not just dark and vile, but… I have no words to describe the kind of fuckers who were a part of that family. That particular fucker had taken advantage of his impunity, because who’d know, who’d help, who’d see? But they knew, Jimin. Because, whatever hidden corner you could choose, walls always have ears. The Gryffindors were just coming back from their practice, and there was some kinda trouble with the stairs, so they decided to go round. And they had heard, Jimin. They had heard someone’s pleading for help, they had heard a noise in a classroom, but it was locked. So, instead of breaking the damn door and checking for sure, those idiots just shrugged it off and carried on their way.”

 

Having let go of the other’s hand, having uncoupled their fingers, Yoongi pulled away, crossing his legs and returning his gaze to the flame of the fireplace, his back turned to Jimin, shoulders stooped.

 

“Hoseok came back to the common room, sked where Yoonji was. I said she’d left forty minutes ago to meet him, and we immediately rushed to search for her. She’d been complaining to us both on that moron not giving her any space. We found her, surely, but it was too late. I left her with Hoseok, for him to take her to the hospital wing, and went to find that fucker myself.”

 

Jimin felt an unexplainable fear, when Yoongi’s voice got filled with hatred and something manic. His whisper turned fluidly into hissing, full of a wicked lust for revenge that hasn’t faded away through all these years.

 

“I had found him. He lounged on a sofa in the common room like a full boar, smiling content and boasting to his friends about how he spent such a good time with  _ “finally she stopped playing hard to get, it’s a pity I had to resort to extreme measures” _ my sister. I hardly realised what I was doing, to be honest. It’s just, one moment, he turned to me and he smirked, looking me in the eye. And then he screamed and covered his face. He wailed and cried, falling onto the floor, wriggling like a natrix on the frying pan. His friends didn’t even try to help him out, they all jumped aside, frightened, and kept out of trouble when they saw me. Later, much later, I figured out what had really happened, but then and there, I acted on instinct, wanting to burn his greedy gleaming fucking eyes that he used to stare at Yoonji. And, I did burn them out, Jimin. Unconsciously applying magic, I burned the hell out of his eye sockets, enjoying his squeals and agony. Fair enough, the Prefect and the Head showed up soon, terrified by what was happening. Then the medics, aurors, headmaster, mother, whom they had asked to come and who almost strangled that motherfucker in his place when she found out what he’d done.”

 

With a dark smirk and a hand in his hair, Yoongi turned to as pale as a sheet Jimin. And he got even more pale when he saw the other’s eyes. An elongated narrow pupil and a faded iris similar in color to pearls. And a terrible grin on his face.

 

“He’d been taken to Mungo’s, to take care of him, even though it was clear as a day that he won’t see ever again. My mother had taken my sister home right after, threatening the headmaster with a scandal and all following if he lets a single soul know about what had happened to Yoonji. It had played to the headmaster’s advantage, though, such an ugly spot on the school’s reputation. When Yoonji got better, she went to France. She even joked around the last time we spoke, tried to say something about taking care and  _ “it resembled a long-awaited meeting of the two lovers” _ . But these words were never comforting, it made me mad and willing to punch her. Just to stop hearing it, just to stop remembering.”

 

Turning around in an especially graceful way with his whole body, Yoongi turned out to be sitting on the other’s hips in an instant, leaning forward and ignoring the other’s fingers squeezing painfully his sides. Jimin was scared, terrified. And he got even more frightened, unable to squint his eyes, when Min leaned to his face, still hypnotizing with a steadfast frosting gaze of his inhuman eyes.

 

“I didn't save her, Jimin. And Hosok, who had sworn to me, he did not save her, either. The vaunted Gryffindors passed by, not giving a fuck about reality, and Seokjin, to whom the boys complained about both the stairs and the obscure noise, he did not go to check. And he was obliged to do so, he was already a damned Prefect that time, obliged to pry into all strange cases and incidents. But he did not go. Neither did Hoseok. And I had been sitting reading the damn transfiguration textbook, blindfolded, while my sister was being raped by that fucking asshole.”

 

Jimin thinks that he’s about to pass out, because Yoongi’s voice is almost inaudible, and there was a glimpse of a forked tongue between his lips. He remembered a white serpent for some reason, entangled him with his body, and the sudden appearance of sleepy Yoongi in his pajamas afterwards, and his own words, which now seem so dumb.

 

_ “Hyung, I have no idea what did you make me drink last night, but don’t ever offer me those drinks. I have awful hallucinations after that slop.”  _

 

What if there was no hallucination. What if that white serpent was Yoongi?

 

He didn’t have the chance to think it over, as Yoongi leaned now extremely close, meeting his forehead with Jimin’s and not breaking eye contact.

 

“I’m gonna tell you a secret, and you won’t tell anybody, okay?”

 

Threatening intonation was prominent in his whisper, and Jimin was stuck in a corner like a helpless kitten, he could only nod and swallow. Yoongi smiled at his reaction, but this was an evil and unpleasant smile. As if what would have followed after was something bad, as if Jimin was going to hear something, that would change his attitude towards Yoongi once and for all.

 

“That bastard is dead, Jimin. I was still watched when I managed to get in touch with one jerk who has been my father’s errand boy. For a miserable price, he got into St Mungo’s, into that shithead’s ward. I wanted terribly to look at the faces of his doctors when they’d found him dead of the lack of air, because his dick was cut off and stuffed into his throat. I was so glad to know of his death, but now, a strange feeling gnaws at me. I think, I shouldn’t have done it this way.”

 

A short pause and…

 

“I should have killed him with my own hands.”

 

Yoongi pulled away abruptly and smiled absolutely wickedly. He assessed the trembling carcass beneath him and bowed his head to his shoulder, staring intensely at Jimin, pale and frightened. It seemed funny to him that Jimin is not trying to break free, is not screaming, not crying for help from nonexistent people who will never hear him. He’s only breathing loud and haltingly, fingers still digging into his sides, looking at him wide-eyed.

 

“Now you know, Jiminie. Of all the people on this Earth it’s only you who knows the truth. You know what had really happened, know that I burnt the fucker’s eyes on purpose, know that he’s dead because I want him so. I should have been sent to Azkaban for that, Jiminie. Your memory is enough to send me to the lowest level cell. And you are also aware of my little secret by now as well. And concealing the animagus abilities from the Ministry is also punished very strictly.”

 

“H-hyung… Your eyes… Are very strange…”

 

Jimin thinks Yoongi’s hysterical. Yoongi, trying hard not to suffocate in his laughter, falling onto the bed next to him, thinks that Jimin has lost his mind in his fear. Otherwise, how would you explain this stupid remark and his reaction to such words? How would you explain Jimin crawling closer to him, pulling him to his side and hugging tightly, placing the other’s head on his shoulder. Who is shaking so violently when Yoongi’s burying his face in the other’s neck, loudly inhaling the smell of his skin, his sweat and something sweet, but he doesn’t push back, but pulls him closer.

 

“H-hyung,” his voice breaking and fingers shaking digged into the mint hair, caressing slightly. “Don’t think of these things anymore, okay? Don’t think…”

 

It’s probably Yoongi who had lost his mind after all, giving in to his hysterical laughter with his angry tears, because between them two Jimin’s not the one who’s supposed to mumble comforting words. But Min will think it over tomorrow when he wakes up. He’ll think it over, if Jimin doesn’t vanish with the first morning light…


End file.
